A Promise In The Amazon


Dream of the Worlds Trilogy, Part 3


by Ivan D. Alexander





"We are the script writers of our own destiny, and
only the players in the destiny of others, no more."

--Paul to Maya


A Promise In the Amazon

Chapter 1. Alert
2. Fallah'An
3. Ebh'ans
4. Black Abyss
5. No Return

6. Time
7. Blue World
8. Soil
9. A Man
10. Josie

11. The Village
12. Bates
13. Manaus
14. The Chase
15. The Plan

16. The Priest
17. Fate
18. At the Border
19. El Dorado
20. Carlos


21. River Crossing
22. Ambush
23. Uuuubh
24. The Ship
25. Awakening

26. Mission
27. Mourning
28. Telegram
29. Wheels
30. Yata-hey

31. The Tunnel
32. First Light
33. Chosen
34. Goodbye
35. The Promise

END



Chapter 1: Alert.


"This is Tenya. I am calling on the interstellar security channel. They have captured Paul. My ship is down. We had broken into the most secret installation. Have recovered four bodies, parts missing. Others not available, believed to be at Wright-Patterson base. Also parts of shuttle ship downed in earth time, 1947. No communications device. Alert called by MJ12. Search in progress. Government computers scanning worldwide all telephones for this call. I'm on Earth system relay, via satellite. In moments, they will triangulate my location, so must cut off. Suggest you destroy space link to this number. Will await your rescue. Please hurry! Paul's life is in danger. I need... Intercept! Must go! The Light be with you in 'Aan."

We had just left the Fallah'An sector of the Galaxy when we received Tenya's frantic call. The call relayed through our stations in Earth's star system and then vectored through space compression at the Galaxy's central gravity to our position on the far side of the star spiral. It still took two Earth days to get here. The distance made it impossible to reach her immediately, though our Star-ship was the fastest available. It was no faster from our home world, Ka'ananda. There was no choice but to chance the greatest maneuver ever attempted by our world in a Star-ship. It was Seth who made the final decision, though it had already been seen in the Dream. We decided to attempt to reach Earth in the same way the signal reached us. We would travel through the center of the Galaxy and enter the gravity hole. If we survived, then we could reach Earth within two days.


Chapter 2: Fallah'An.

I am seven years old. My name is Maya. Because of the advanced training I have received, my mental years are far in advance of my biological age, more than twice that. But in physical terms, I am still a child.
It had been three years since my biological mother, San'aa, and my biological father, Paul, and I had first left Ka'ananda for the Living Worlds of the Galaxy. Though, I should say that we had been home many times since. Seth, my mother's male mate, and who I also call my father, is the Star-ship's commander. Kahla, Paul's female mate, is also on this journey. In the complicated ways of our world, she is as well my mother's female mate and also my mother, sort of.
We left Ka'ananda shortly after the Great Change, which is how the time has become known when our deadly Troopers were disarmed. They were no longer allowed to kill, and instead had been replaced by teams of androids who now monitor the Law on our worlds. They do this in a firm but gentle way so that another element of fear had been removed from the Universal reality. This was considered a great achievement by all, and I was there when it happened. But that is not the focus of the story I wish to tell. That was the time of the debate as to whether Earth should be allowed to join the community of Living Worlds. The decision had been made by our Dreamers, they who weave reality and see it as it really is, that the people of Earth were ready. But their governments were not willing to allow them to do so. So in universal terms, Earth was still asleep, and our journey to the Fallah'An sector was part of that awakening. Paul and Kahla had left our expedition, along with Tenya and a team of androids, for Earth. They left some months ago, and for all we knew, that is where they were now. But only Paul was to Planet-walk. The others were to remain in the space vicinity of the planet. All this was before Tenya's call to us.
When we had arrived into the Fallah'An plane, Seth gave us instructions:
"Paul's android Master will escort the first party onto the plane. He has been programmed in protocol and will show you what to do. Remember the people of Fallah'An are like no other conscious beings you had encountered, so be mindful of their presence when they present themselves. The successive disembarkation parties will follow as previously scheduled."
Seth was referring to the numerous life forms we had already encountered on our travels through the Galaxy. The most recent were the Tung. They still had bodies, but it was difficult to see them, as normal light passed through them. Mostly, they were felt, and a mental image formed itself of their presence when they wanted to make themselves known to us. Usually, it felt like an indistinct shape of a human being, except that it was transparent. I felt these presences all around me, but others had difficulty seeing them. When they came aboard our Star-ship, it was sometimes comical to see people bump into each other by accident, as the Tung were not always careful about that. I only bumped into someone once, and they felt like a tickle. In other ways, as members of the Living Worlds, they were very much like us.
But it was to be different in the world of the Fallah'An. They are one of the original members of the Living Worlds, far older as a race than even our predecessors, the Oruk, and they had transmutated many times in form through the eons, as we will. But their work was most important regarding the awakening of worlds. So we came to visit them last, with the greatest respect, as they are a very ancient race. My mother and I, followed by ten others disembarked.
Master walked before us, leading us the way into this strange and mysterious land. It was not a world as we know it. There was no great planetary sphere endowed with life, as we had seen on other encounters with Living Worlds. There was no sky, no trees, no water or land, nothing that would suggest the place sustained life. Rather, it was emptiness, black and infinite. We stepped off onto a vast plain, a plastic experience of space that stretched two dimensionally away from us in all directions, bisecting space into two brilliant halves of star lit blackness. But it was not dark, rather it was light. From all around us radiated a rich luminescence, as if there was a soft purplish glow that reached up into us when our feet stepped off the Ship. We descended into a vast plane of plasticity that felt soft and spongy to our feet. And it glowed with the simple light of life.
"San'aa. You have been asked by the people of Fallah'An to step first. They know you are a child of Earth and are most curious of you. As they are of your daughter. Please step forward a few paces and stand before them."
"But there's no one here, Master..."
"They are here. You will see."
My mother and I stepped off the Ship and walked on the strange surface, if it could be called that. It felt more like a film that suspended us between the two halves of the cosmos. Thick clusters of stars and distant planets held suspended above and below us, brightly lit up the skies. And the place had total silence. We could hear or see nothing else. I walked behind San'aa and stopped when she did.
"Master? What are we to do now?"
"Just observe. The others will be joining you presently."
The other members of our party likewise stepped off onto the plane, not uttering even a whisper. They too appeared spellbound. When all had disembarked, more or less standing in a line before the bright lights of the Star-ship, Master walked to one side of us and stood also. Then he spoke.
"To the people of Fallah'An, we come in the Light."
It was like a wave had washed over us, a wave of color and yearning and the distilled essence of a million voices. Then it passed as abruptly. I knew from my training that it was but the first phase of telepathy. It is the phase we share with all life, like fear and yearning and the need for life. That form of telepathy is how worlds progress, how unintelligent life learns, and how all living things are bound together in the great cosmos as one living being. But it is non-mental, non-intelligent. Rather, it comes from the most distant recesses of our primordial animus. There is no thought or sensation of emotion attached to it. This wave of telepathy is like an unuttered bond of life that predates all awareness of being. Then it was still again.
Master then asked us all to lie down, explaining that it is safe to do so, and that we will not be harmed. We all did as he bid. The surface of the plane accepted us, as if it were made to mold itself to the contours of our bodies. We all lay down, still silent.
More waves washed over us, this time more distinct, more present in how we feel, and think before thought. More like the thoughts that come just before we wake from sleep. It felt like a wave of love, of controlled passion that caressed us gently as it sped over us. Again it felt like a million voices, but this time, we could hear sound. It sounded like a sweet and distant chorus. And it felt good, like I was being received by warm hands. I knew this too was a form of telepathy. My mother and the others were lying with their eyes closed, very still, as if in meditation. I did likewise, but did look from side to side to see what everyone else was doing. Master was still standing. He is an android, and his communications with this world was of a different order. To him, they were simply the Creator.
This second wave was of a higher level of communication, just below the level of consciousness, just below speech. It felt welcoming, inviting us into their world. But it was not understood as such, but more like when an animal speaks to another with a twitch or moan or swish of the tail. It felt more like that, something that you knew instinctively, but could not put into words. And it felt good, like a mother caressing her cub with her tongue. It had a distinct presence to it, like a smile, but in the zen-like solitude of the plane dissecting space around us, this presence seemed almost incongruous. Yet I knew, as I know the others knew, we were in the presence of living beings.
"The Fallah'An welcome you into their world. To answer them, bring up your knees to your chin and rest comfortably." It was Master again.
I did as asked, and again we lay very still. Nothingness enveloped us completely, as nothing happened for a long time. I could feel the minds around me, each asking in his or her own way what was happening. We as humans have this need to know, to understand in some form of thought pattern that relates to the real world. But there were no reference points, only space and the light giving plane, and an infinity of stars. Here, everything was only in terms of the infinite. It was a very strange place, and we all, singly and together, began to feel afraid. It felt like we were in a dream that was not of our making, but rather that captured us and to which we had to surrender. Slowly and quietly, we all did, like a living thing must someday surrender itself to death and quietly let go of its life. We were letting go. And then the words came into out minds:
"You are the children of our life."
No other words were spoken, but the words penetrated us with the same intensity we had felt before, as if every cell in our bodies felt it spoken to it directly. Again it gave that warm, tingling sensation that washed over us with love and a great depth of feeling. It spoke instantly of yearning and fear, or pain and sorrow that felt sweet rather than sad. I felt tears forming in my eyes, as I felt the others feel that same love within their being. It was uncontrollable, like crying from happiness rather than sorrow. But we did it in silence, as none spoke nor made a sound. Then my mother spoke.
"Thank you."
And others began their expression of thanks, each in his or her own time. We could feel each other clearly now. I knew we were now in the third phase of telepathy and everything was becoming clear once more in our minds. Nothing had changed on that mysterious plane. The stars were still brilliant in their stellar darkness, unblinking. But our minds were suddenly made very clear. Thoughts formed themselves involuntarily, ideas and dreams and words. I could hear them in my head, as I knew all did.
"Are you God?" I asked, inwardly. A reply came instantly.
"We are only one step closer to Being, what you called God. Only our focus is different. We no longer see the world the way you do. So for us, the real world is what you see around you. God is only one more infinite manifestation of Mind. And Mind is the Love that binds together the Universe as we know it. But there is still much we do not know."
When these words passed over me, as they had to all the others, someone else spoke.
"Are you who I am?"
After a brief silence, words formed themselves in our minds.
"We share in our bond of identity. The whoness of your life is the same that is the whoness of ours. The person you know of in yourself comes from the same source. You are a divine being, no less than we are divine beings. To know that being is what powers the universe to manifest itself in all the forms known to us. In us, it is different only in that we have refined it to a single plane of existence. That existence is to occupy space and time in Mind."
Then my mother asked.
"Are you Love?"
Again a wave washed over us that almost made us twitch with its intensity. It was like the first wave we had felt. But now it spoke.
"That is the hardest work we have."
But those words were delivered with a feeling as I had never felt before, like we were suddenly totally enveloped into that powerful love that goes beyond words, almost beyond being. We were instantly made to understand that this was the most important thing to them, to become love. But more than just love between two beings. It was a Love of all Creation, of all Life and all the things that made life possible. Suddenly, all the things that trouble us in life, such as anger and fear, seemed small and unimportant, as if our being was instantly elevated to the highest plane and on that plane existed only good. And yet, to get to that plane, all the other things were necessary first. So this was our path in our evolution, to experience all things so that in the end, we would know what Love in Creation really is. But it was still very far away, and there was so much work to be done. And much suffering. But there was no turning back. Once we had accepted life, there was no way to ever turn away from this path. Even in our meanest and smallest moments, we were on our way to that Love.
"Do you die?" someone else asked.
"Even the Universe dies, in a very long time, as will we."
"And what will happen then?"
"We will be reborn, as will all of you."
This was followed by the longest silence, as if the people of Fallah'An themselves were thinking of it. Or maybe this was so known to them that it was beyond thought, and only experienced in that mysterious way they saw the world. No other questions were asked, but the warm feeling of closeness in a familial bond stayed with us, at times washing over us like a wave of color and light. I began thinking of all the life forms I had ever encountered, even of my little dog Lix on my home planet, and of my lion, Karu'an, and my pet bhok. They all seemed so alive, somehow, more so than I ever imagined, as if they too were part of that vast continuum on which we lay in our fetal positions. And we felt so relaxed, so wonderfully at peace, like no care in the world could ever touch us again. And in that was our greatest gift from this strange world. It was as if we were told that our future is always assured, to never fear. We would go on until the end of time, when the Universe dies. And even then, it is but a transition until a new rebirth. When Love has reclaimed all its children into itself, it All begins anew. There was no greater gift.
Just then, as if out of nowhere, a great golden orb rose above the invisible horizon, casting light over the whole plane of emptiness. It was their sun, same as it rises on any living world. But here, it cast more than just light. It gave off a strong feeling, as if the Fallah'an themselves had given it life. Or maybe they just gave it back the life they had been given for eons. The newly risen sun glowed over this vast expanse of space with a warmth we had never experienced anywhere else. For each one, it was a feeling of warmth and love, like a salvation felt deep within the bosom of each living being. It was the feeling of being alive with love. In some mysterious way we knew that it was time rise again, and we did, each in his or her own time. I was again standing next to my mother, and she looked deep into my eyes, as I knew I was looking into hers, and tears formed themselves again. There was nothing else, only that, and now we both knew it.
When we got back to the Ship, Seth greeted us at the entryway.
"There is nothing like it I know of in the whole universe. And now you know it too."
We looked at him, tears still moist in our eyes. That he shared this knowledge with us was too much to answer now. We still could not speak. It was if we had met our own life face to face. We only smiled at him, and he smiled back. Then he resumed his posture of command and directed the next party to descend to the plane. Master guided them down from the Ship.


Chapter 3: Ebh'ans.

Master was bent over the controls. Even though he is an android, he so reminded me of my father, Paul, as he was his personal attendant and had learned to mimic him in subtle ways. It is for that reason the designers of androids often have them resemble their owners, in a more stylized way, of course. Master was a little shorter than Paul, his facial features of a more diminutive version, and his skin was more glowing and silvery, but he reminded me of him anyway. His attention was now focussed on the panel boards before him, his hands passing over the color coded symbols that flashed beneath them. The three dimensional images showing on the large hollow screen that represented the Ship's functions were lighting up sharp rainbows on his silvery face. It was quiet in the main control chamber, as all were intent on their work.
I thought I would interrupt him.
"Master? Can we talk now?"
A moment of hesitancy passed over his face, typical of when an android has to suddenly change focus, and he turned to me, almost smiling.
"Of course, Maya. What shall we talk about?"
I stared a bit longer at his controls, those symbols of force vectors represented by multicolored lines and rectangles and triangles, some shaped like three dimensional crystal structures, that seemed to dance before him, crossing and zigzagging in the dark quiet of the screen. He once said that the triangle is the basis of all calculations of space travel.
"I don't know. It's just something that seems to bother me, about some of the beings we had met so far on this trip." Master looked at me expressioneless, waiting for more. "It's not that I'm ungrateful for having seen so many people, mind you. I think I'm very lucky, considering that I am only seven, and not even wholly of your world, though I was born there. But, you know, my mother is of Earth. So sometimes, I feel kind of funny, like I don't really belong here."
"But you do, Maya. You know you are very much a part of our world. And were you not considered by the Dreamers to be old enough and mature enough to go on this voyage? They wouldn't have considered you worthy if there had been any doubt. They saw in the Dream the importance of your being here. So you should never worry of it."
Master was referring to the Dreamers of Ka'ananda, my world, and of the Unity of all the Living Worlds who also have Dreamers. They are the ones who see reality as it really is, and as to where it is going. And apparently, I had been seen in the Dream.
"Do you think the Dreamers are at this very minute working on where we will be going next?" I asked.
"We know they are busy in the Dream chambers, but I am not updated on what the latest strategy is for now. But that is not what you came to see me for, is it?"
It always surprised me, well not really, how Master could see right through a situation and call it out. It is part of that supreme brain mechanism of his, that sees with such fine clarity.
"I guess not. Really, I came because I was a little afraid of the people on one of the planets we visited."
"The Ebh'ans?"
"How did you know?"
"Because it is a natural reaction for the people of your race to have a mildly negative reaction to them, same as some have an instinctive revulsion of spiders or snakes. It was easy to guess. But you had never mentioned it to me before."
"I've thought about it, a lot, I guess, but didn't tell anyone. Not even San'aa or Seth. I guess I didn't want to appear ungrateful for having such a great opportunity. But really, Master, they kind of gave me the creeps."
Master looked at me, his eyes unblinking but somehow deep and wise. They had the typical almond shape that slanted away from the nose around to the sides of his head. And they were larger than normal eyes, without a discernable pupil, just liquid darkness. They fascinated me, most times, but they also were unfathomable, hiding behind them an intelligence that was alien even to us. But that was partly because, though we designed and built the body mechanisms, we were not the manufacturers of the mind mechanism. That was being done by a far older and more advanced race.
"But why do you think that is so? Why should we have bad feelings about them? They never did us any harm."
"I can only guess, from what I know of them, as to why that is so. You see, they are very intelligent and sentient beings, like you are, but they are different. In their evolution, which lasted far longer than that of either our world, or of Earth, their consciousness sprang from a different source. They too manifest, in the way of the universe, into beings that resemble all the humanoid beings, with characteristic differences, but they have different roots. Most beings came from a mammalian base. Not so the Ebh'ans."
"Were they reptiles, then? Like snakes? They kind of look like snakes."
"No, not reptilian, or saurian either. They come from a unique combination seldom found. Their ancestry traces back to the plant world. Actually, they are a vegetable race. But somewhere very far back in their evolution, they merged genetically with the creatures that made their existence possible. Can you guess?"
"Insects?" I made a face while saying it.
"You guessed correctly. They are a rare combination of plant and insect. And for that, they are different from most of the conscious life forms you had encountered. They truly are unique and, I might add, are very sensitive about that."
"I never said anything to make them feel bad. I was very careful about that, as I had been instructed by the learning tapes before we left for space. Even Seth had reminded me to mind my manners in the presence of alien life forms. So I always did. But I still can't figure why they give me the creeps." I thought about it a moment, and then added: "I feel as if they are somehow envious of me, that they would steal inside me and change places. Does that make sense?"
"Not to me it doesn't, but I can understand it intellectually. You see, I know that the Ebh'ans have a very strong desire to be like everyone else in the Living Worlds, more human, if you follow."
"Yeah. They want to be flesh and red blood like the rest of us."
"That's right. But their blood is more like tree sap, and it's clear like the fluid of an insect. Their movements are awkward, like locomotion is unnatural to them, though they can be very strong and very fast."
"But what of their heart? Do they feel like we do?"
"You mean humans? I suspect not. That is perhaps where they are most envious. They cannot imagine what it is like being human."
A soft bong came from the controls and Master momentarily had to turn his attention from me. He corrected what caused the alarm and turned to me again. Then he continued what he was saying.
"You know from your tapes that the reason for this voyage is to have you meet all the life forms that will in some way play a part in the future merging of Earth into the Living Worlds. When she awakes. But the Ebh'ans are a special case. You see, they had been violating the Earth Quarantine for some decades now, so we visited them with a different purpose."
"I know. They were reprimanded for breaking the Quarantine."
"Yes. But more than that. They had tampered with organisms on that world."
"But why?"
"It is hard to know for sure. But the Unity thinks it was because they wanted so desperately to find a way to merge their genetic makeup with that of other sentient beings."
"But why Earth? Why not some other world?"
"Because they were embarrassed by it and remained secretive. So they chose a planet that was off limits to everyone else."
"And they got caught, didn't they?"
"That's right. Two ways. First, the Unity caught them visiting the planet, even making contact with some of the people there. Then, they suffered casualties while on Earth. Some of their ships malfunctioned or were shot down, and seventeen of their members died. This was the greatest embarrassment to them. So now they cannot return until such time that the Quarantine is lifted. Until then, they may not tamper with animals or humans on Earth again."
"Did they succeed?"
"You mean did they find the genetic link they were looking for?"
"Yeah. Did their laboratories isolate the genes that would make them more human?"
"I'm afraid not. And this was at a great cost, since much mutilation took place on Earth while they were searching."
Master looked at me with his eyes, to see if I knew of what he was talking about. I did. He was referring to the cattle and other beasts which had been captured and mutilated for he retrieval of parts the Ebh'ans needed for their experiments.
"And it wasn't just animals, was it? They captured people too."
"Well, they first tried to work on the animals most consumed by humans, knowing that consciousness came to Earth through the food chain. That's why they focussed on cattle, since that seemed to be Earth's favorite food. Milk and meat. But then, frustrated, they even went after people. And that was when they were ordered to stop."
"Are they sorry?"
"Yes. They expressed great regret."
"But they were not punished."
"No. The Unity of Living Worlds does not punish in the way of Earth. They believe that the universe has a reason even for its mistakes. And they let that error heal itself in time. They were merely told to stop it."
"That's creepy, isn't it?"
Master gave me an almost mirthful look.
"I guess so. If that's how you see it. To me, it is just another piece of information to process. Remember, Maya, I can understand, but I too cannot feel or dream the way you can."
"I know. But you don't give me the creeps. But I guess neither should they."
"No, they shouldn't. Just try to understand them." Master looked at his controls again. Then as an afterthought: "Remember that they are very embarrassed by what they did. They are still new to consciousness, as is your mother's world, and they were trying too hard. I fear that the Earth humans will no doubt make the same mistake, at first, when they are allowed to visit other worlds. Think of what they had already done to their own animals, and even other humans, in their pursuit of understanding in their laboratories. See it like that."
"I think I do. We all make mistakes. I guess we can't condemn them for that."
The activity around the main control chamber was going on in hushed tones as we sped at multiple light speed through the Galaxy. We had already left the Fallah'An sector a few days ago and were nearing the star systems that were closer to the center of the vast spiral of worlds and stars. We were due to pass the triple star system or M'Aan, which is considered sacred by the Dreamers, only as a token visit, and then resume our trip home, back to Ka'ananda. We had been in space for nearly a year. I looked up at the viewing domes, watching the brilliant colors of space as we shifted through light zones. Our Star-ship, the most advanced of its kind, is called Ka'ankh'an, and she is a marvel of human ingenuity. The Dream chamber aboard, where the Dreamers do their work, is the most advanced there is. That section of the Ship, near the center of her interior, is always kept dark for the Dreamers to more easily perform their tasks. The chambers are in a large hall, but not aligned in banks as they are on other Ships. Here, they are positioned along a spiral path. It was discovered that this allowed the dreaming to merge more easily with those of all the other Dreamers. So the patterns and signals that were then fed into the massive computer for analysis were much better defined. It was also this improvement that allowed for the transmission of the Dream to beings receptive on other worlds. It was tested on the Ebh'ans, and even they responded. So a new technology had been created to spread the Dream throughout the Galaxy. This was very exciting to everyone and gave the mission an added importance. But for me, this was just a mission of visiting other worlds and seeing what the peoples of those worlds were like. It was at the time I was in the main control chamber that Tenya's frantic signal came through.
It seemed as if all activity had momentarily stopped as we all listened to her call. Seth looked serious, his brow furrowed. I should explain that Tenya was not supposed to have been in any danger while in the vicinity of Earth. It was Paul, my father, who was supposed to be on Planet-walk, retracing the steps taken years earlier, before I was born, to help merge Earth's reality with that of Ka'ananda. But things had gone wrong, and now the patterns left behind by that earlier Planet-walk were being corrected. This time, he was in the tropical rain forests of the world to understand why there was such a high death rate among some species there. Now something else had gone wrong, and my father was captured. And Tenya sounded in crisis. We needed to do something.
"Mother, what's 'MJ12' and 'M16'?" I asked a little confused.
"Hush, love. I don't know. But maybe Seth will know what she's referring to."
Everyone's attention was now focussed on Seth, he being the Ship's commander. There was an intense stillness as the Ka'ankh'an's large engines sang in their otherworldly beauty. Sometimes, aboard, it sounded like a vast chorus of rising and falling voices. But it was just the charged fields around the Ship rising and falling under the navigation computer's commands. We were travelling at terrific speeds, faster than any human could control, so many functions were left to machines. Only space obstacles in the path of reality merges were monitored manually, as those required split second decisions by humans, and sometimes their androids. That was what Master was working on. A large planet formed on one of the viewing domes and then vanished. We waited for Seth to speak. Then he did.
"I will confer with the Unity in my private chamber. Then I will return and advise our course of action." He looked very regal, tall of bearing, showing no sign of stress. Then he turned to my mother. "San'aa, I would like you to join me in this conference."
They left, and all resumed their prior work. I knew why he asked my mother to accompany him. It was her world, and she was consulted on all matters relating to Earth. This was established after the great Change. I was still too young to be included, though I knew that someday that would be my job too.
Seth and San'aa returned to the Control in a few minutes, concern showing on their faces. Seth spoke.
"The Unity had received the signal, a few hours earlier. The Dreamers had already devised a possible plan." He looked at everyone in the chamber. "This will entail a great risk for us. But we must do this in order to rescue the Earth mission. The Dreamers feel that to fail to do so could be catastrophic for that world's future. Earth may be destroyed in..." He again stopped, as if collecting his thoughts. "... A cataclysm. But the final decision has fallen to me. And after conferring, I have decided what we must do. There is no time to travel to Earth by the normal space channels, as this could take weeks. In order to execute an arrival in the time the Dreamers have given us, we must attempt what had never been attempted by a Star-ship like ours before."
Then Seth went silent, as he was about to tell them the news that those who knew in their minds already dreaded. But he resumed presently.
"There are four hundred men and women aboard this Ship, and we must become as one mind and body in this endeavor. So we cannot face our fate with fear or doubt. Instead, we must be willing to go with faith into the unknown. And that is our hardest task. For to rescue Tenya, and possibly Paul if he is still alive, we must go through the gravity hole at the center of our Galaxy. If we succeed, then we can be on Earth in two days." He stopped after saying this, as if letting us all understand the importance and gravity of what had just been said. All knew that for us to fail, none would return to our world, or the world some of our crew came from, alive. But Seth had one more thing to say. "If we succeed, then Earth can be saved. If we fail, then both are doomed. So we must succeed." Then he added softly. "And we will, in 'Aan."
Then Seth turned to San'aa and looked at her deep and hard, and she did the same. All the others turned back to their monitors, silent in their own thoughts. None needed to talk, because we are telepathic, all already knew each other's thoughts. Speech is reserved mostly for those times when we speak to each other directly, more as a affirmation of what was being thought. Those who were assigned to the Dream chambers left the room. They had important work to do within the next hours.
The Control chamber was again silent, the only audible sound being that strange chorus from the engines. It sounded more like wailing now, harmonious yet sad. But then, there are those who feel a Star-ship is almost alive.




Chapter 4: Black Abyss.


Since I was not needed at Control, I wandered down the now busy corridors to my private chamber. There were people hurrying all around me, some on their way to their operation stations, others to the mechanism maintenance areas, and others back to their quarters. Those were the ones who would not be needed for the upcoming maneuver, so they seemed to be in the least hurry. I was one of them.
On the way, once I got off the accelerated pathways which allow you to walk at up to three times normal speed, we have a very large Ship, I stopped to linger at the main hall where rests the mysterious and dark green crystal. The chamber is a large oval room at the center of the Ship between the main coils of the propulsion system, and it is used for high functions only. It is what we call a Sing. The room was empty now, save for the dark green crystal ring that sits silent atop a pedestal at the center of the hall. When it is activated, it glows bright green and throws off a full, shifting spectrum of Light. That is the energy that we use in all our technology. When it is called upon in the Sing, its energy enters the brain and lets us all Dream together. I have been to many of these Sings, and they are each different. Now the room was silent. I wondered, as I stood in one of the entry ways looking into the darkness, if this might not be the last time I will ever have a chance to do a Sing. If we do not survive, then I guess the answer would have to be 'yes'. Somehow, that seems unreal to me. Still, doubt lingers.
There are no other children my age on this vessel. Everyone else is adult. But I often find myself in the company of Master, or Ta'an. Other times, I would spend time with my mother, and sometimes, when he is not too busy, with Seth. But there are many others whom I also visit and talk to. Everyone aboard knows everyone else, as we had been travelling together for a long time now. But only a select few share my confidence. On the way, I also stopped at the information center, to see if there were any tapes on galaxy holes. I felt inadequate, in that I did not know anything of they way they worked. And now we were about to enter one, I thought I should learn of it.
Most times I do not really mind being alone. It gives me time to think. I suppose it seems odd that a young child would want time to think. But my training advanced my reasoning abilities, and feeling abilities, to the level just short of that of most adults. Of course, I still cannot feel really what adults feel. My sex drive is still dormant. But I have already fallen in love, so I know I have feelings. But the person I fell in love with was much too old for me, at least for now. That will have to wait. Also, when I was very young, my mother and Paul had some kind of falling out, so they stopped living together. I guess I knew what loneliness was from those days. But then Seth came into our lives, and it became much better then. So now Seth is part of my family as much as my mother is. When I got to the center, I scanned the information files and found the tape I needed. It really is not a tape at all, rather more like small eggs with tiny inscriptions on them. The information is stored on these small nodules, each of different color, and that nodule is then placed in a reading receptacle in the machine that reads such things, called readers. I call them tapes because that is what my mother calls them. She says they use tapes for the same purpose on her home world. I also checked if there were any tapes on the Ebh'ans, but there were none I had not already seen. Funny, none of them mentioned their embarrassment at being different from the rest of us. I guess it must be their secret. But secrecy is not the norm on my world, so it seems strange that they wish to withhold information about themselves. Master did say they are still new to the Living Worlds, and I know that most new members hold on to their former sense of secrecy for some time afterwards. They continue to think that secrecy is power. But in time, it fades. That is because of the Light.
I placed the nodule marked with the serial code for gravity holes into the reader and lay back, my head resting comfortably against the cushioned head rest holding my head firmly in place. Then I activated the machine. The information of this nodule was very short, as not much was know of the gravity hole, but it was interactive, so I could ask questions.
I darkened the light in my room, for effect, and began to receive the information impulses as the reader quietly accessed the information in the black nodule. It began with a view of the Galaxy, as seen from beyond its perimeter. It looked beautiful with its many colored stars set against an infinite backdrop of the blackness of space and all the other stars and worlds. Then it quickly travelled my focus into the swarming center of stars, so quickly that it gave me a mild vertigo. I was now totally surrounded by their light, and a voice came into my head.
"This is the vortex around which the galaxy will gravitate for billions of years. When this cycle is over, then all will collapse into the One, as we know all things eventually must, but that is still very far away. When that happens, then all the energy from all the worlds will compress into a new energy which will burst forth into new worlds and stars, to repeat the cycle again. The engine for this great death and recreation is the gravity hole at the center of the galaxy, as it is for all galaxies. Our Galaxy is one that is more mature, so it has taken on he characteristic of a spiral, whereas others are in different stages of formation, some no more than a random chaos of stars."
The voice stopped to let me take it in, seeing other galaxies in comparison to the one we inhabit. Then it focussed once again on the center, now very close to the hole, a vast swirling of brilliant stars and worlds, all close together, as they were in their last periods of existence.
"The worlds you see close to the center are spiraling into the gravity hole. Their life spans can now be counted in only millions of years, though those closest know their end will come within thousands."
I needed to ask a question.
"What will happen when they are swallowed up?"
"No world had experienced this to tell about it, so we in truth do not know. But there are theories, and Dreams, as to where those worlds go next." The focus took me closer into the blackness at the center. "It is believed by many that those worlds will compress in time and space. The velocities within the hole are believed to reach into the millions of light speed, as the hole naturally shifts the bodies into future space merges. So where they come out, and in what form, is still a mystery. The mathematics were worked out long ago, but never really proven. However, some believe that some of the energy will find itself once again on the perimeter of the galaxy, whereas others believe it will be in a universe totally different from ours."
"Then nothing dies, and it is only transferred elsewhere. But what of the living things on those worlds? Do they survive?"
"Let us play it out and see where it goes."
The swirling mass of stars began to move rapidly, as if millions of years were compressed into seconds. They began falling into the vast blackness at the center, as no light escaped from there. They shone brightly at first and then gradually became dimmer, until they were lost totally in its blackness. It looked blacker than the blackness of space when we are standing still. It reminded me of the crystal in the main hall. You knew there was light there, but you could not see it, though it communicated itself to some other sense, maybe no more than wishful thinking. As the worlds one by one fell into the abyss, I asked another question.
"Are the stars accelerating, as they enter the hole?"
"Yes. They take on the velocity of light, and as they do so, they multiple leap into new dimensions. Their velocity does not slow down as they do this, however, so they continue leaping into new merge phases of reality continuously."
"Does it stop?"
"As far as we know, of its own, it does not. That is how the universe recreates itself. Ultimately, they become pure energy, somewhere."
"What if a world could slow itself down, in this process? What would happen?"
"Theoretically, it would survive the hole. Let us play that out."
The view, now totally black, showed a world swallowed into its center, spiraling inward. The normal light of its star dimmed perceptibly, then glowed a dull red. Now the machine slowed the world down so that it continued glowing red, rather than merging into the galactic blackness. The voice spoke again.
"This is simulation of a world that is not accelerating, as it is applying force against the gravity hole. But if we run it forward in time, if it does this for too long, see what happens."
The universe was not to be cheated of its energy renewal. At some point in time, the star shattered completely, and all the parts fell away into the abyss. I almost gasped involuntarily, thinking how this could be our Ship, when we attempt to do this.
"Then I have another question. If the star had survived, where would it have found itself?"
"This can only be known theoretically. It would depend on the body's velocity in relation to the velocity of the space around it. Because we cannot calculate what that space velocity would be at any moment in time, there is no way to know. But from our space travel experience, we know that by manipulating that velocity, we can vector ourselves into any direction, and any distance, we wish to be, within limits."
So that was it, I thought. If we could manipulate the velocity in relation to space within the gravity hole, then there was a chance we could use it to sling shot ourselves to any part of the galaxy we wanted. That was the strategy behind Seth's decision. Now I understood what he was trying to do. But it was a daring feat, as none had ever attempted it before. Or did they?
"Was this ever attempted before, where a Ship could enter the hole and manipulate its speed?"
"Yes, it was. Long ago, in millions of years, the Fallah'An had done it."
"And did they survive?"
"Yes."
"But why didn't they share that with us?"
"Because they said it was against the order of the universe."
"Can you elaborate on what they meant?"
"No. I have insufficient information to do so. Though there was something to do with time. We know no more than that."
"One more question. Where is Earth in relation to the hole?"
"Earth is a new world. So she is on the periphery. About twenty five thousand light years."
I leaned back, my hand reaching over to shut off the machine. This left a huge puzzle in my head. But now I knew what we were heading for. No doubt, all who were involved with the operation had copied the same nodule from the central file, even the Dreamers. But each of us would ask different questions, some more technical and more focussed on the actual maneuver itself. I felt that I should be in the Control chamber when we attempt to enter the gravity hole. It was very unlikely, but maybe I had information that would become useful at a critical moment.
We were still more than three hours from the maneuver, so I felt I should get some rest. I lay down on the floatation bed in my chamber and ordered the lights to dim to a dull brown. Then I instructed them to brighten in three hours.



Chapter 5: No Return.

When I woke, my personal robot came floating over to me with a sparkling beverage, which I drank down slowly. It warmed my insides and instantly revived me into alert consciousness, though I had not slept deeply at all. My mind was too full of questions. The robot floated out of the room as silently as it had entered, taking the empty goblet with it. I changed from my loose fitting casual tunic into my mission uniform, which was a metallic grey-blue body suit. I wanted to look like I belonged at Control.
Central Control was once again a swarm of activity. Everyone there had a duty to perform, and there must have been over fifty persons present, both men and women. Seth stood at the main viewing wall looking out into space towards the gravity hole. He was also dressed in a body suit, which is standard for serious operations. We were very close to the hole now, with the same swirl of stars I had seen on the tape lighting up the blackness of space around us. I could tell from the background that our Ship had slowed to sub-light speed, otherwise the colors would have been brilliant. In a steady and quiet voice, Seth called out his commands.
"Dream chamber computer relay coordinate instructions to main processor."
"Done." A voice spoke from overhead. It was the Control computer.
"Multiple analysis scenarios fed to backup processors."
"Multiple analysis complete. There are two thousand, eight hundred and twenty routes programmed."
"Life support systems check."
"Check done."
"Suggestions?"
"Recommend non-essential areas evacuated and life support shut off."
"Place those areas on alert to evacuate and seal off when evacuation complete."
"Alert sounded."
"Please advise when complete."
There was no response, as an evacuation would take time. Then he spoke another command.
"Program molecular structure analysis in all critical areas."
"Done."
"Align all backup power sources for peak performance, at my command."
"Backups programmed."
"Drain power source from main hall and Dream chambers."
"Dream chambers still occupied."
"Stay that command until they have been evacuated." Then more to himself, "I guess we'll have to do without their help on this one."
I was standing behind him, his towering frame dwarfed mine. He turned and looked at me, serious, then he smiled.
"So what are you doing here?"
"I want to be at Control when we go through the hole."
"You know this is very serious, love."
"I know, father, but I have read the gravity hole information nodule. So I know what we are doing."
"All right. Then you could observe. In the Light of 'Aan, I hope we come through the other side."
"We will. We have to. My father's life is at stake."
"I know. We will do whatever we can to reach Paul in time."
Presently, my mother came in, followed by Ta'an. Ta'an was my father's strategist on his first Planet-walk on Earth.
"Maya, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your quarters? This will take all of our concentration."
"It's okay, San'aa. Princess is my co-captain. I've allowed her to stay."
Seth looked at me with his deep blue-grey eyes, a subtle smirk around their edges. Mother accepted that and became less tense. But she was tense just the same.
"Then can I stay too?" she asked. "I was going to join Maya in her chamber."
"Of course you can. It matters little what part of the Ship you're in if we fail. I'd rather you were here with me."
Then Ta'an's cheerful face added:
"And if we succeed, then why not at Control? And look at the view!"
He was referring to the viewing walls that were on the three sides of the Control chamber.
"Well, then. Let's get down to business. We are approaching time zero for the operation. Everyone to their stations. Zero minus ten minutes. Scan for possible debris. What is our window of opportunity?"
"Gravity hole clear. No objects approaching for six hours." It was the voice of his second in command. Her name is Ra'an.
The time I describe is all translated into Earth time, so that it would make sense to anyone from Earth. But I've also programmed this text to reflect time or distance on any other world as well. Ta'an joined Master at one of the stations that monitor space obstacles, as smaller objects show up out of nowhere, it seems, and must be caught in time to be deflected by the Ship's vast energy fields. These fields crisscross ahead of us and vector us through space. When they are focussed on any object, they ionize the obstacle and temporarily suspend it in an altered, sub-space-plane form. This happens mostly when we pass through stellar gases and debris. After it is passed, it reforms in space behind us, so nothing is destroyed. Of course, if there were life forms aboard, they would die. So then, when the system notices these, we make every effort to go around, provided we have time. We always go around planets and stars, anyway, as they give us plenty of warning. And if we did not, our Ship would be destroyed by their gravity energy. We were ready.
"Good. Computer, activate grid coordinates and position fields to match."
"Done. Evacuation from non-essential areas complete. Sealing in process."
"Thank you, computer. Proceed with monitoring structural molecular integrity."
No sensation of motion was felt aboard, as it never is. But I knew we were now travelling at near light speed, which I could tell from the way the stars looked on the viewing wall. They had halos around them. The powerful engines gave off their strange sound. From space, our Ship would be seen to light up the cosmos. We were hurtling towards the center of our Galaxy, into the black hole.
"Rotation check from all stations."
Each operator from his or her station then replied.
"Affirmative, life support."
"Hangar bays, secured."
"Outer field flux, normal."
"Obstacle control, one, clear."
This went on from all the stations, until the last called.
"Waste control, complete."
The operator of the last, a veteran of many space voyages, is much advanced in years. He was nearly two hundred years old. His report meant he had just demoleculorized all the waste from aboard the Ship and set it off as steam into stellar space. Nothing is ever lost and it will rejoin some planetary gravity somewhere, someday. This would be the last signature of our existence before we entered the hole.
Then Seth called off the sequence of energy fields as they propelled the Ship forward. His second in command then repeated the sequence after him. As she called off her vector coordinates, the computer answered her in turn. I walked over to Master and sat down in a chair next to his. Mother was standing with Seth at the viewing wall.
"What do we do now, Master?"
"Why, nothing. We wait. All functions are in place, and for the next hour, we are merely approaching the point of entry."
"Is that where we can't turn back?"
"Theoretically, it is where our engines cannot reverse the process."
"That's called the point of no return."
I sat silent then, thinking what that means. Master was busy observing his controls and making adjustments when needed. We met much debris at this sector of space, as more and more matter was being absorbed by the now powerful gravity field around us. But there was no sensation of this inside, only flashes of colors on the side viewing walls, and the alignments on Master's controls told me we were travelling above light speed, jumping from one universal reality to another. There was no light ahead of us, only bursts of dull red followed by blackness. More worlds swallowed, and we were next.
Within the hour, we had entered where, to our knowledge, no human had ever been before in a Star-ship. Ra'an began calling off her sequence, more quickly now. Seth spoke to the computer at times, his commands answered by the mechanical voice above. Some of the Dreamers had now congregated on the viewing gallery above the Control area, watching along with the rest of us. Other non-essential personnel were present too, some with their personal androids. All were watching the activity below. And all had the express trust in their commander. The computer called out our velocity.
"Light factor twelve. Light factor thirteen..."
This went on as we all watched. San'aa had her arm around Seth, who held her at his side. Master remained impassive, calmly working his controls. The engines sounded louder, as all perceptible light outside the Ship vanished completely. Then the computer spoke.
"We have reached merge with level fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine... no return. Repeat, no return."
All our minds gave off an audible shudder. We had entered the gravity hole with no chance of turning back. All of space around us was now travelling parallel with our Ship. There was only total blackness ahead of us, the only light from within the cabin that held Control.
"Switching to sequence two, fields unresponsive to power coordinates."
"Switch to two."
It was Seth answering the computer.
"Switching to sequence three."
"No, hold off." Seth looked troubled. "Computer, switch to three at my command, only."
All looked around at each other, their minds like voices in our heads: "What was happening?" But there was no reply from the commander, only a vacuum of thought. Then he spoke again.
"Switch to three."
"Done."
"Molecular status check."
"All parts of the Ship are operable, molecular integrity intact."
"Designation coordinates reading?"
"Bearing as designated, set for... set for..."
"Computer. What is our bearing?"
"Cannot read."
"Switch to random sequence until can read."
"Random search in progress..."
A long moment passed before its mechanical voice was heard again.
"Reading coordinates on sequence, infinity minus, one thousand six hundred, nine, seven, six... merge complex series inverted. All inverse numbers in sequence."
"Lock in sequence. What is our bearing?"
"Earth star system."
A collective sigh of relief was felt by all. We were on track after all, and not lost in some unknown sector of space. But nothing was visible ahead, still. Then it began to happen.
There was a dull thud throughout the Ship, as if someone had hit her from outside. The lights dimmed in rapid sequence then came back on again, almost as if they had flickered in slow motion, which was how my mind saw it. I grabbed onto to Master's arm. He turned to me, and put his hand on mine.
"Don't worry. It was only an aftershock of a merge."
"Will it happen again?"
"Possibly."
Then it happened again. This time, Seth leapt into action.
"Integrity status report."
"Molecular integrity violated at sections thirty and ten."
I knew that was the left rear of the Ship.
"Stabilize field at break points."
"Stabilization complete."
"Any casualties?"
"Negative. Section evacuated."
"Good. Continue to scan for integrity."
"Alert at section fifty one. Casualties. Field redirected to fifty one."
"Report on level of damage."
"Damage report tabulated. One dead, three wounded. Life support undamaged."
"Direct medical personnel to fifty one. Scan for next possible casualty area."
"Scanning. Engine compartment four and six showing molecular stress."
"Order four and six to essential staff only. What operating capacity without four and six?"
"Operating capacity fluctuating between minus thirty and forty percent."
"Cannot sustain operation at that level, redirect energy field to maintain integrity. Dim lights."
"Redirected." The light sources throughout the ship turned down to a soft grey.
"Where from?"
"Hangar bays eight and nine."
"Good choice."
Those were the least essential shuttle ships aboard. They were used by robots on planet studies. I knew all this from my earlier training. Seth felt the computer had made a correct decision in eliminating those, as they could be easily reoutfitted later. After a long moment passed, the computer spoke again.
"Designation coordinates lost again. Travelling without bearings."
"Begin deceleration sequence."
"Deceleration begun."
"Bearings?"
"Computing."
"What are our coordinates?"
"Time shift sequence altered. Cannot calculate."
"Computer. We must know where we are."
"Unable to configure... calculating..."
Seth looked at San'aa, then at the rest of us in the Control room. For a fleeting moment, I could see a sense of loss in his eyes, as I could feel it. Without bearing coordinates, we could be set adrift into some unknown universe. This had been done by very advanced races in space travel and it was how other galaxies were reached, but we would never to find our way back. It was beyond our calculation abilities to know how to maneuver that far out in space. This was what he had feared most of all, though he had never shared this with anyone. We would be perpetually lost and perish in some plane of existence none could ever find again.
"Computer! What are our coordinates?"
"Calculating."
"Damn it! computer. Faster! Calculate!"
"Unable to read."
"Repeat random sequence until reading available. What is our velocity?"
"Light factor forty-two hundred."
"What time is it?"
"Time factor unknown."
A visible droop set into Seth's shoulders. He looked at Ra'an, who looked back, unable to help. Others were the same. We were now but a tiny speck of life travelling through some dark abyss of space, vulnerable and lost inside the space time continuum of a black hole. And at any moment, we could be crushed into the basic elements of all existence. I got up from where I sat and walked over to him, trying to show no panic in my step. I reached up to him and touched him on the arm. Mother turned to me, a trace of fear in her eyes. Her eyes spoke of the seriousness of our position. We were truly lost. Seth looked at me also, but his eyes betrayed nothing. He was still in command.
"If we stopped the Ship, would she hold?"
There was nothing on the viewing screen outside, only blackness through which we were being catapulted at twelve hundred times the speed of light. This was faster than we had ever travelled and the computer was unable to calculate at those speeds. My idea came from a simple mind, too young to know what it meant, but it was just a feeling. So I spoke it. But something in Seth's eyes told me I may have hit on something.
"Computer. Begin sub-light merge procedure."
"Sequence beginning."
"What is integrity status?"
"Status clear."
We only knew what our bearings were before we entered the incalculable space. So, with luck, and with the help of 'Aan, we may have cheated the universe, even if only temporarily, of its renewal energy source. It was a gamble, but maybe it would work. It was something the learning tape had said about time that made me think of it, though I did not consciously know what that was.
As we stood there, waiting for the computer to read our coordinates, I looked at the dark viewing screen before us. Then it showed, faintly at first, but lighter with a bluish tint.
"Look Seth! Light!"
Like a chorus of minds all speaking at once, I could feel all in the Control area look up at the screen at once. The viewing gallery also responded. We began seeing stars forming on the screen.
"Can you read bearings, computer?"
"Bearing coordinates falling in sequence. Molecular status clear. All life support systems functioning... We are in the sector... nineteen over thirty-thousand, minus twelve over two thousand... only an estimate."
"That's great, computer! Thank you." The Ship's lights returned to normal brightness.
Then Seth turned to all in Control.
"We are approximately within less than two days of Earth. And we succeeded where none had done in known times." He looked into the eyes of everyone present there, then into mine. "We have emerged from the gravity hole closer to our destination than expected. My dear friends and loved ones, we are on our way."
A voluble cheer rose from all present. But it quickly subsided as we all remembered that someone had died in the attempt. A life paid the price of our gamble, and others were hurt.
"Medical. What is status of injured?"
"One serious, will require intense Light mending. The other two are minor and will heal easily."
"Computer, what is status of energy fields at this power level?"
"All fields normal. May resume standard operations."
"Medical. You may begin treatment. All operations have returned to normal."
"Thank you Commander. The Light be with us."
"It is."



Chapter 6: Time.

The Dreamers returned to their stations. The Dream Chamber was again activated and there was much work to be done. They numbered about a hundred, a fourth of the crew, though on their home worlds, they were about a tenth of the population. Their ratio was higher on a Star-ship because of the importance of their work. They are the ones who set the course for where we were to go. But their work was not always fruitful, individually, so many were called upon. And out of this bank of minds and souls dreaming, there resulted input into the Ship's powerful computer to chart our course. But it was more than merely the linear course of space travel. They were the one who saw the merges as they unfolded in our path. Earth was our destination, in two days, and we had to merge cleanly into her reality to be effective on this mission. Without their help in this merge, our attempt at entering Earth's reality would be fraught with hazards, both for us and for the planet's living ecosystem.
We had no further word from Tenya, nor of Paul's whereabouts. But the Dreamers could already see the patterns that would lead us to them. There were no indications that my father was dead. But his whereabouts were still a mystery. They could not lock onto his presence on the planet, or elsewhere. The grid-map coordinates pointed to Tenya being somewhere on the South American continent, possibly in the deep jungles of the Amazon. The powerful crystal that activated the Dream chambers was continuously lit, so I knew they were hard at work. But reality releases information only slowly, and it was for the Dreamers to communicate with that mysterious being for what they needed to know. But many returned to their private quarters empty and drained, having gained no more access to the mysteries they were trying to solve.
On the next day, after the Ship's routine settled once again to normality after the near traumatic experience of the day before, Ta'an, our head Strategist came to consult with Seth. I was then at the Control center amusing myself with the visions of space that enfolded before us. We were at multiple light speed, and the visions of the great void were brilliant with color. There was a beauty to them that I somehow had never seen before, as if the patterns of color that showed themselves on the viewing walls were speaking to me directly. There were not just color anymore, now they were patterns. They were messages into which I could read form and meaning. But then, the day before itself was packed with meaning for me. Having come so close to total destruction, so close to pure death, I had grown sadder and more thoughtful. I guess on that day, I had become older, somehow.
"Seth, I think we found something you should know about."
Ta'an cherubic face had the usual red cheeked happy look about it, but there was a hidden seriousness in his eyes. Seth's tall lean frame observed him casually. Ta'an was a little shorter than him, but of heavier build.
"Have the Dreamers achieved the phase merge we need?"
"Yes, it seems they have. But something is showing up on the grid maps that may be of concern."
"Yes, go on."
"The destination we guessed at first proves correct. Tenya is somewhere near the Rio Negro in Brazil."
"That's the Amazon jungle."
"Right. It seems her ship was abandoned there."
"Can we pin point her?"
"When we're in closer range, we'll find her exact location, but for now, we only have an approximate location. But there is a more pressing matter." He stopped for a second before giving him the news he came to deliver. "It seems that we have traversed a little known time merge."
"You mean there is a time merge, similar to our space merge?"
"Not much is known about it, as it is never used. But the Dreamers have now identified it as being a reality, in our case."
"How will it affect us?"
Seth was now no longer casual, but intent on knowing the answer.
"It means we have a limited time. Because of this time merge, achieved by channeling through the gravity hole, we have been able to catapult ourselves forward in time. But there is a price."
"That we have to go back the same way we came?"
Their minds were now as one.
"That, and more. You see, because of this time wrinkle, we must return to the gravity hole within a specific period of time."
"And if we do not?"
"We'll dematerialize."
The news struck deep into Seth's fear. He had speculated that something like this would happen, even the Unity thought of it, but he did not actually believe it would. Now he knew that his fear was true. He was allotted only a temporary time sequence within this new reality. Then the natural flow of events, which he had temporarily cheated, would reassert themselves, and we would dematerialize into energy. The gravity hole and the universe wanted their due. Somehow, we had to stall that. That was what both were thinking.
"How much time do we have, Ta'an?"
"By our calculations, given the work done on the grid maps, we believe we have almost exactly two Earth lunar months."
"That isn't much."
"I know. But that's all we have for now."
"Can it be averted, somehow?"
"We don't know how."
"So that means we have to have reached the gravity hole before the time elapses, or we fade into nothingness? And that's nearly three weeks away from Earth."
"That's how we understand it."
"Who can help us on this?"
"The Dreamers still have no answers on this. But I can hazard a guess."
"The Fallah'An?"
"They're the only ones we know who had done it before."
"That was a million years ago."
"But where they are now, they never forget."
"Then we must speak with them as soon as possible."
Both were now looking out into space, the viewing wall shimmering with the cosmos' mysterious colors. Somewhere out there was an answer to a puzzle. But we were not being given much time to solve it. Then Ta'an spoke.
"I will have the communications personnel standing by. But it will take two days for our signal to reach them."
"Time is now all we have, and so little of it. Let's do it." Then as an afterthought. "We had better contact Mira'anda. She is still stationed on surveillance at a distant orbit around Earth."
"Is Kahla aboard?"
"Yes. We've been in touch with her already. They too are scanning for Tenya's whereabouts. Maybe by now they have better coordinates than earlier. When we last talked, Kahla was very distressed over the whole thing."
"We should go to communications directly."
Seth and Ta'an left Control, and I stayed before the viewing walls. I had no desire to follow them. I could tell from their minds that they were distressed too and I did not wish to burden them. Some part of me knew, or believed, that the mystery we had just entered would all come clear, in time.


Chapter 7: Blue World.


I watched my mother standing before the main viewing wall. The small dot of bluish light in the center grew visibly as we approached at sub-light speed. Within minutes, it had changed to a beautiful large swirling orb of blue and white, and then it filled the screen with brilliance powered by its nearby sun. Greenish brown continents lay beneath her clouds. Not so much different from my home world, except the continents were all wrong. We had arrived within Earth orbit, at about two hundred thousand miles. Her large silvery moon hung in the blackness of space on the far right of the screen. Stars filled the background around Earth's thin bluish-white halo. The other Ship, Mira'anda, was now also visible ahead of us, a large stationary uneven oval suspended in space, her lights flashing as if signalling some mysterious code. San'aa was standing erect, at attention before her beautiful world. Tears like distant stars were in her eyes. It had been eight years since she had been home. We stopped.
"You don't have to cry, Mother."
"I'm not crying from sadness, princess. I just forgot what a beautiful jewel Earth is. In the years past, I had stopped missing her. Now, I miss her all over again."
"Then you will come down with us."
"I don't know, my love. Maybe I will, even if only for a moment. But so much has changed since I left. I am no longer the person who once lived here."
Seth came behind us and put his arms around us, holding us in his gentle but firm hold.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" We nodded, mother's cheeks still moist with tears. "San'aa. You are to join the others on this first descent. You will travel with Maya, until you meet up with Tenya, then you will return. Kahla and Master will stand by to lift you up, when the time comes. Is that all right?"
Mother's tears flowed freely once more.
"Yes," she managed in a whisper.
"And are you excited about going to Earth?" Seth turned to me.
"I don't know. I've heard so much about that world. Studied it in detail. But I'm scared, really. I just don't know if I could handle all that energy there. They are so wild..."
"Like their music?"
Seth knew I really liked Earth's music. He had caught me dancing to lively rock'n roll sambas.
"Yeah! Like their music. They're wild. But I think I'm going to like it. But first, I must find Paul. Then I'll be happier. But we don't have much time, do we?"
"No, love. We only have about a month. If he is not found by then, we'll have to abort our mission and return."
"To the gravity hole?"
"Yes, the gravity hole. But we know it better now."
I stood facing the large window on that strangely beautiful world below. It looked so peaceful, so serene. Yet I knew that its reality was far from that. Beautiful, maybe. But not at all peaceful. Why? I wondered. When Seth and San'aa left, I was left alone. Strangely, I really felt no emotion for my mother's world. I could not explain it. Maybe, in some small way, I was envious that she loved it so. But maybe I just did not have the experience necessary to relate to what I was seeing. Paul and Angel, and Tenya too, all had spoken with great reverence and feeling for Earth and the time they had spent on that strange planet. But there was no way for me to truly understand that. I did not have the same attachments. To me, after all the worlds I had already seen, Earth was just one more, lovely, planet in the cosmos. And yet, it held half of my roots. I thought to myself that I would try harder, to really try to appreciate the great moment into which I was about to step.
By the time we reached orbit, all preparations had already been in progress. There was no time to waste, so androids and junior technicians were readying the shuttle ships that were to take us down to the surface. There were to be three ships, so that if any encountered difficulty, the other two could rendezvous for immediate rescue. But Earth was still Quarantined, so all efforts would be made to bring the damaged ship back to the Star-ship, not to be abandoned on the planet's surface. It was a universal understanding that the people of Earth, at this time, still knew nothing of our existence. I met Kahla at the shuttle bays as we were getting ready to board.
"Maya! Oh, my dear little Maya. How I missed you."
"I missed you too, Kahla. Mother and I often talked of where you were, and what you were doing."
"I was assisting Tenya on her secret mission. But when your father was captured, everything went wrong. Then I returned to the mother Ship."
Kahla looked radiant, as she always did, wild golden curls about her lovely fair face. She had that casual air of happiness with which I had always known her. But there was a subterfuge of fear about her. She had not seen San'aa for over a year, and they were very close. There was even a time when they were lovers.
"Have you seen my mother yet?"
"Yes. We spoke just a while back. But you made it through that horrid gravity hole. How did you do it? And you got her so fast! I almost can't believe it."
"Some of us can't believe it either. But we did it, though we paid a price."
"The time factor... I know. San'aa told me."
As we spoke, Master came over with supplies we were to take to the surface.
"Here is a change of clothes. You are to appear dressed as would any visitor on holiday. Your passports are American, so blue jeans and sneakers should do. Also, here are some items of toiletry you would be expected to carry in your bags."
He handed Kahla and me two small back packs, each filled with a change of clothing and other items useful for travel. There was a toothbrush, which we normally never need, soap, again never used, a small towel, insect repellent, which he assured us we will need, and a small stick of deodorant. Kahla and I both laughed at the last, since these are never used on our world. Our Light showers obviate the need for deodorant. But we would need it in this hot and steamy world. So we were glad to have them.
The plan was to have Kahla, San'aa and I descend to the jungle in the Amazonas, near the city of Manaus, where the Rio Negro and Amazon meet, and there await contact with Tenya.
"Do you know how to reach Tenya?" I asked.
"Because she had the space link destroyed and she has no communicator, we can only reach her through a pre-arranged contact. She will be at the docks. I think we will manage it."
San'aa then joined us, also dressed in Earth clothing.
"I have sad new, dear ones." We looked at her, already knowing the meaning of what she had said. "I can stay on my world for only one day. Then I must return to the Star-ship."
"Why can't you come with us, Mother?"
"The Dreamers don't think it wise. They say the reality loop from which I left Earth has not yet healed, so my presence would endanger you."
"You mean you would be like 'bad luck'?"
"Something like that, I guess. I don't really understand it. But I know the Dreamers have a clearer picture of what it all means. And they had the sympathy to let me go even for a day. But Brazil is not my world. So I will be there only on a necessary mission. Cairo or Khartoum or Paris will have to wait."
Kahla seemed saddened by this news. She also hoped to spend some time with San'aa, as did I. But it was not to be. There were greater forces at work we could not challenge. And the Dreamers could see these in ways we could not.
"Then we are on our own," Kahla said, reluctantly.
"No for long, love. The Dreamers also said that you are to deliver Maya to Tenya, when you find her, and then also return. This is not a Planet-walk, so you can't stay beyond that mission."
"So this is, really, Maya's Planet-walk, isn't it?"
"I believe it is. And she being so young, Tenya is there only to assist her. And to find Paul."
"Will Master brief me, before I get off?" I asked.
"Those are his instructions. As you make approach, he will give you all the details you will need. Your mission, I know, is to last no more than an Earth month. After that, no matter where you are, you must return to Ka'ankh'an. Otherwise, you could be stranded for a very long time, with no support."
"We will be back, Mother. I will not fail."
Mother put her arms around me, her body's energy to give me comfort. As I grow older, I don't feel the same attachment to her, as before, and she knows it. But it is normal for mother and child to separate, psychically, at an early age on Ka'ananda, and she accepted that, though she said on her world it was different. I love my mother with all my heart. It is just that I have a sense of mission now, and the mission was beginning to occupy my attention more and more. I knew I was being trained for the time when Earth was to be accepted into the Unity of the Living Worlds, and that this next part of my journey was but one very important step in that direction. But the disappearance of my father was not foreseen. So a new dimension had been added to this mission. It was my duty to do my best to find him.
"Do we have any signals from Paul?" San'aa asked of Kahla.
"There is still nothing. We do not know where he is. But we know he was with Tenya at the time of his capture. So maybe she will know."
"And we have not yet heard from her..." I wondered aloud.
"No, love. We haven't. But we will find her."
Master and other androids took the last of the provisions we would take with us for jungle survival, and we were ready to board. Both Seth and Ta'an came over to our ship.
"Now you know that the other two ships will be standing by just beyond the atmosphere. At the first sign of trouble, both will approach your ship from opposing directions. But there could be a minute or two until that happens, so do your best to hold off any Earth intercepts. We will deaden their radar surveillance, so anticipate no trouble. But be weary just the same. You are entering a planet whose governments are very hostile towards us, for many reasons. So if they spot you, they will try to shoot you down."
We all knew this in advance. But Seth had to speak his concern for us. He feared he would lose people he loved dearly, so there was a natural protectiveness to his words.
"We will be all right, Seth," I said. "The Light of 'Aan is with us."
"I know, love. But do be careful just the same. You are entering territory that had not yet learned of the Light, so different rules apply there. This is still a primitive world, and violence is still their way. But we will do whatever we can to shelter you from it."
He put his large hand on my head. It felt warm with love for me. And then he reached over to San'aa and kissed her on the lips.
"'Aan be with you all, in the One."
"And with you, my love. We know you will watch over us."
Ta'an also gave us his blessings, and we all made ready to board. Master was last to enter the shuttle ship. The entry closed behind him. The soft hum of the engines engaged and we put the jungle landing site on our screen. All was clear and we slowly left the holding bay. Seth and Ta'an waved to us as we silently slid off into space. Through the transparent viewing wall, we waved back. Beneath us, at a steep angle of descent, the blue planet awaited our entry. From space, it looked almost alive.


Chapter 8: Soil.

Excitement took hold of me instantly once we left the holding bays. I could also feel it in San'aa. She was going home, even if to a strange country. I was about to enter onto the planet of her birth. And Paul was down there, somewhere. I was sure of it. With Master at the controls, the small world grew visibly larger as we made our speedy descent. In no time, it seemed, we were over the vast ocean of the South Atlantic, hovering only meters above its massive surface. I had never seen an ocean so rough. Its waves crested towards us and then broke, as if trying to reach for our small ship. The dark water was as if it too was made of this world's wild nature. The planet's energy was written all over its surface, as if it were untamable, rebellious. Earth's violent life came from that water, and now I could see why. That was my first impression of this world, and I liked it.
When I was much younger, I had seen my mother fierce in battle, and now I knew where that fierceness came from. It came from her world's waters. That vast sea of life was alive with its own energy. Watching Kahla look down on this sea, I could see her shrink from it, inwardly. Perhaps it was this that so fascinated her about San'aa, that which she could not understand. But Mother was at home. I could feel it. And strangely, now, so was I.
"We're going to approach the shore on no lights," Master spoke to us, as if in mechanical tones. "I am now scanning for interceptors. It seems we have evaded them. We should be safe. As I approach shore, Kahla, be especially vigilant."
"I'm on monitor," she answered.
"First sign of intercept, I'll immediately take us back into space."
We all watched his instrument panel, as if each one of us was flying the craft. In fact, we all knew how, but it was Master's duty to take us in. We travelled at low altitude over a deserted part of the beach and headed for the interior over a lightly populated area. Being on dim, it was very unlikely anyone would see us from the ground, though they may experience disturbances on their electrical and electronic equipment, if they had any, as our ship's energy field passed over them. But I knew we were largely invisible to the naked eye.
"So far, so good," Mother said, as if to herself.
"How does it feel, being here, Mother?"
San'aa turned to me, almost absent mindedly, as if she were lost in her thoughts.
"After seeing so many worlds, I don't know. I feel as if I never left here, at one level, and then, it was as if I don't really know this world anymore. It feels strange."
"I know it so well from my tapes, that I feel as if I already belonged here," I answered. "But it also feels strange. There is a strangeness here, like I never felt on any other world."
"It's the same for me too," Kahla added. "I had been to the surface but once, but was glad to get away. Earth is scary to me, and I don't know why."
We all watched the thick green canopy beneath us, rivers winding through it, birds flying in our path. We were flying beneath thin high clouds and the sun shone brightly as we passed over the trees. At a distance were dark thunderclouds streaming thin arms of water adorned with rainbows. I could almost feel the leaves of the trees below reaching up to touch us and drink. Our altitude was mostly just a few meters over the tallest trees. Master carefully avoided brushing against them. In places there were large clearings with a few huts, or just empty with little vegetation. We detoured around these. We were well below any radar intercept, and so far saw no military jets after us. At one point, as we slowly progressed over the forest, a small airplane passed within a kilometer of us, and Master detoured again as to not interfere with the craft's electrical mechanisms. But the plane did not turn, and its radio made no mention of any unusual craft in the area, so we knew we had not been seen. Small villages moved beneath us, populated by less than a dozen grass huts, and then we were within the vicinity of our destination. Master let the ship hover.
"This is where I am to give you your instructions." He pulled out two dark metallic objects that looked like pistols I had seen on my learning tapes. "These are to be your weapons. They are Seth's idea. San'aa, you already know how to use these. Now these are the secret instructions I am to deliver."
He paused, looking at both Kahla and San'aa. Then he continued.
"I have been instructed, for reasons I cannot reveal, that you, Kahla, are to return with me."
Kahla looked shocked, but inside she was relieved. Mother stared, her mouth open. She knew what was coming next.
"And you, San'aa, are to go to surface with Maya. I know you know how to use these, but after you arrive, at an appropriate time, you are to instruct Maya on the use of weapons. Do you accept?"
"Damn right I do! And how!" San'aa almost laughed. "You've always been my ally, Master." Then she turned to Kahla. "Is it okay with you?"
"Yes, my love. As much as I had hoped you and I could be together, I understand."
Then Master added.
"But San'aa. You are to be with Maya only until you locate Tenya. Then, with your communication device," he handed her a wrist device that was made to look like a large ordinary time piece, "you will contact us for a pick up. Then you will return to the Star-ship. These are Seth's instructions."
"And the Dreamers?" asked Kahla.
"They will continue to do their duty, as always, and complain about it. But if there is one thing Seth learned from San'aa, it is that you approach Earth differently. This is a world where unilateral decisions work, unlike other worlds. So it must be."
"God bless you, Seth," Mother said in a whisper. "You knew... You always know."
"Seth has become more like you all the time, San'aa," Master added. "And now, you are to step off onto your world." Then he activated a hidden drawer inside the ship and opened it. "Here is some currency for both of you. It should last you awhile. As you see, some of it is in local currency, and some in American dollars. The inflation rate in Brazil is very high, so it is better this way. Also, here is a plastic bank card that would access Paul's account. Use it only if you are short of funds, as his card can be easily traced, and we know he is under surveillance. When I let you off, you are to purchase passage to the nearest large city, which is called Manaus. When there, you are to find Tenya at the docks. She will be looking out for you. And that is all for now."
"I don't know how to thank you, Master."
"No need, San'aa. Seth said it will all be seen in a Dream. He's just doing it, we're doing it, in reverse order. That's all."
He looked at us with his dark, liquid eyes, almost as if smiling. If Master were human, he would have had a mischievous smirk on this face. But his logic circuits are designed only for reason, so he sees this only as the performance of his duty, no more. But I suspect that is his mechanical being is some sort of extra-mechanical heart. And I think even he knows it too, though he cannot dream.
Master then maneuvered the craft closer into Manaus, bypassed the city which hugs the banks of the Rio Negro, and took us over the trees into a large and dense forest about seventy kilometers north. There he landed at a deserted farm clearing on the banks of a narrow river. The thatched hut was still standing, but there was no evidence of recent habitation. The tree stumps from the cleared area, about a hectare, were already covered with termite mounds, which indicated the farm had been abandoned for some time. Still under the cloak of invisibility, Master lowered us into the center of the field. The entry way opened.
The place was strangely quiet. Sensors detected only jungle life, no humans. But Master stepped off first, just to be sure. After spending a minute outside the craft, he signaled to us that it was safe to exit. Mother stepped off, then me, and last was Kahla, tensely looking about the farm. The thick jungle seemed to press in on all sides except from the river, which flowed slowly and brown. When San'aa feet touched the soft earth, she fell to her knees and gently cupped the soil with both hands. Kahla remained standing, as did I, but then we both walked over to her, and touched her. It was as if a current passed from her to us, and then to the earth again. We could feel its intensity. But we both knew it was from San'aa. She was glad to be home again, after so many years. No, more than that. It was like seeing a wild animal released from long captivity, unsure but intensely happy all at once. There were no tears in her closed eyes, only a long smile.
Kahla gave me a strong hug, and then the same for San'aa. Both were crying now. Master said he should not tarry too long, as the ship could now be seen from the river. They quickly boarded and lifted off. In a flash, the ship was too high to see. Mother and I were left standing with our meager belongings on the ground of a strange world, in a strange land. We had provisions to last us two or three days, if need be. Neither of us had ever seen such a thick and steamy jungle before. We were both from a desert land. But the soil felt soft and good beneath our feet.


Chapter 9: A Man.

"Ouch! What was that?"
"They're ants, Mother. Look! They're climbing up your leg."
Immediately San'aa jumped into an active little dance to shake off the small intruders.
"I had forgotten about ants. And these bite!"
"See how they march in columns. I think these are called army ants. They're very aggressive."
"I guess so! Let's get away from them."
In truth, there was no where to go, except the hut. We picked up our packs and made for it, hoping that the ants did not follow us. All around was was only jungle, and we were not comfortable about going in there, it being unknown. We climbed onto the platform beneath a thatched roof. The platform served as its floor. The walls were missing.
Much to our surprise, the hut had two hammocks strung, as the place had been used recently as a camp. There was an old machete on the floor and a small cloth bundle tied at the top hung from one of the hammocks. We did not disturb these, as they obviously belonged to someone. Otherwise, the place was bare.
"Do you think someone lives here?" I asked.
"I don't know, love. It looks like it, doesn't it. And the fire pit just outside looks like the ashes are fresh. I guess someone must. Maybe they'll be home any moment."
There was a total stillness about the place, broken only by the occasional flight of a group of parrots, green in the sky, or the call of birds high up in the trees. I thought they were toucans. There were no sounds of human activity, and otherwise, the jungle was also silent. At odd moments, we could hear a fish jump in the river and return to it with a splash. Or a woodpecker hammer on a high dead branch. And, except for the ants, there were no biting insects. The place was very still.
Earth's star was still very high in the sky, and it felt warm, but not unpleasant. The air was humid and it clung to us all over, which made us perspire. I had been on hot and humid planets, but this one had a sweetness about it, a fragrance that touched us just beyond the senses. It felt like a sweet caress inside our noses. There was a feeling of paradise about it and, if we had not been apprehensive about what awaited us in the future, we would have relaxed and totally enjoyed the place. But that was not on our minds now. We needed to get to the city, and find Tenya. And we did not know that we were in fact safe here, though Master no doubt scanned the area for possible dangers before letting us down. Having no means of travel, we were at the mercy of whatever awaited us. And wait was all we could do. We had no means of transport, and none was evident.
After we set our things down in the simple hut, mother and I decided to explore the perimeter of our little compound. We walked to its indistinct corners, walking past the tall tree stumps. They were about as high as me, with funny little cones of what looked like mud on them. Those were the termite mounds. In time, the termites would eat their way to the roots, and the stump would collapse into the soil, helping bring back the jungle, someday. There were other plants growing, remnants of what had been the farm. We found pineapples sitting on stalks protruding from jagged leaves, tall bamboo like plants mother said were sugar cane. And low bushy trees with fruits on them. I guessed they were oranges. At least there was food.
"Well, what do we do now?" San'aa asked, more as if to herself.
"I guess we wait."
We had been there nearly an hour, and no one passed by our camp. The stillness was interrupted only by the birds and small buzzing flies which, to our relief, did not want us for food. We sat awhile out of the sun under the thatched canopy, looking about us in the clearing. The jungle beyond seemed an impenetrable tangle of trees and vines, which was confirmed upon closer inspection. There were small trails that led off into the bush, but we dared not take these. Instead, we just sat admiring the still beauty of it all. In my mind, I was replaying the recent trip here, the gravity hole, the descent, the dark and furious ocean, and the stealthy approach to our jungle camp. Now I was listening to the stillness of the jungle around us, reaching for it with my mind for any signs of life. The place was full, stealthily adding to the silence by being still, or moving about furtively. I knew the bush had life, but you would never know it with your senses. Though it observed us and was very aware of our strange presence here, none wanted us to know they were there. They were afraid.
"Let's make a fire," mother said, at long last.
She too was picking up on the wild presence around us, though her telepathic senses were not as developed as mine. My mind grew up on Ka'ananda, whereas her's was of Earth. But she had learned mind communications with the help of the Light. So her senses were likewise expanded, if only instinctively.
"There is wood all over the place. Let's bring it closer in," I suggested.
We set about the task of gathering twigs and fallen branches. The soil felt soft and spongy beneath our feet. But we were careful to avoid picking up sticks covered with ants. When we had gathered several arm loads by the hut, we set to lighting a flame. San'aa pulled out her lighting instrument that can act as a torch in the dark, or throw a flame several centimeters. Like our guns, it was of our manufacture, on Ka'ananda, but made to resemble similar instruments made on Earth. The pistols, which San'aa took out of her pack, were laid on the hut floor. Then we broke small twigs and placed them atop a clump of dry grass. Atop these we placed larger sticks. San'aa pulled out her lighter and shot a hot blue flame through the twigs and the grass instantly burst into flame. In no time, a cheerful little fire was burning at our feet. As it was warm, we stood back, but the flame somehow brought us solace, and we squatted down next to it at a distance.
"This reminds me of my girlhood in Africa, Maya. When I was little, we used to go out into the desert and hunt for game." She mused, then added: "Maybe we'll have to do the same here. Here, let me show you how the pistol works."
"We'd better not fire it."
"Why not? Don't we want attention to ourselves here?"
"Yes. But it would bring the wrong attention. They would think we're dangerous, if they hear gun fire."
"I guess you're right, love. Still, this is how it works."
San'aa placed a pistol in my hand and held one in hers. Then she continued:
"This is the safety catch." She pointed to a small knob on the side of the gun. "Press it down like this." It clicked into place. "Now it is ready to fire. The bullets go into the cartridge in the handle. There are seven of them. Never point the pistol at anything you don't intend to shoot, especially never at yourself, or any part of your body, like your feet. Be very careful, as this could cause a lot of damage."
"But if I point it at someone else, the same can happen."
"I know. You don't want to hurt anything. But we are now on a hostile world. So there may come a time we will have to use these."
Then San'aa showed me how to point and aim, holding the pistol away from my body, and then squeeze the trigger. She said to use both hands, as I was not as strong as an adult, and to leave the elbows flexed a little to absorb the recoil. It was a small caliber weapon, so there was not much recoil, but she stressed the elbows just the same. But we did not fire it, because of what I had said. After mock practice, we reset the safety and put them back in the bag. We then resumed our quiet vigil.
As the day wore on, and the sun set lower in the sky, our hunger drove us to reach for some of the food we brought. Mother picked out two soft bars of concentrated energy food, which were wrapped in a silvery foil. We sat by our little fire, eating the tasty morsel in silence. It was about the size of my hand, and went quickly. But in no time I felt restored and full of vigor again. The bar was designed to expand in your stomach, when we took water with it, so we began feeling full as soon as we drank from our water bottles. We hid the food wrappers in a crevice of the floor.
"Do you have any feeling where Tenya might be?" Mother asked, at long last.
"She's not far from here, I think. But I feel she is unsettled, troubled and uncertain of herself. So we won't find her quite yet."
"I wonder if we'll have to spend the night here. I know she is scanning for us. But she would never find us in this jungle, unless she was aboard her ship. Which she isn't."
"I know she isn't. She's like us, right now, wondering."
"Can you feel that?"
"Only very vaguely. She must be some distance from here. But we're supposed to rendezvous at the docks. And we know they're about seventy kilometers from here."
"That's true. We'll have to get there first. I wish we had a boat."
The sun was getting ready to set, as it hung low over the trees across the river.
"I guess, if we're not found soon, we might have to use your communications device and ask for assistance."
"We shouldn't use it unless we are desperate. We know the government agents sent to track down Tenya's ship have the means now of tracking our signals. They have in their possession one of our crystals and can duplicate its energy. Luckily, they cannot convert it into anything except a receiving device. That's why Paul was trying to get the communications box from the fallen Ebh'an ship."
"Is that the one Tenya mentioned?"
"I don't think she had it, from what she said."
"And what's MJ12, or M16?"
"Seth told me they are highly secret government agencies set up to track and capture, if possible, any kind of extra-terrestial activity. They're the ones who had captured the Ebh'an ships when they were downed. Err... I think M16 is some sort of rifle. Did she say that too?"
"Oh. No, I don't think so. It just came into my head. Did they capture the Ebh'an pilots as well?"
"Only two were still alive. The others were all dead."
"What did they do with them?"
"The living ones were kept in a secret laboratory for observation. They lived a bit longer and then died. The dead ones were autopsied for scientific research."
"The Ebh'ans are so different from us. They must have been very surprised by what they found," I thought to myself, half amused. Mother answered me anyway:
"The Earth scientists think all aliens are like them."
"Is that why they are so afraid and secret?"
"No. There is a stronger reason. They are afraid that they can't control aliens because of their far superior technology. That poses the governments a very serious military threat, which is important here."
"You think they want to war on us?"
"Well, my love, they are afraid that they are not the mightiest force in the universe, which they want everyone on Earth to think they are."
"Because then all must obey them?"
"That's right. You see, if they are not the mightiest in the eyes of the populace, then they fear revolt, or civil disobedience. So they must maintain the illusion of their military and intellectual superiority."
"And we're mightier than them... And they know it."
"So we pose a serious threat. If our presence were known, then Earth's civil order, and military order, could be thrown into chaos. And that would serve no one." We thought about it in silence awhile, each in the other's thoughts. Then San'aa added: "We'd better get some sleep. We don't know what awaits us tomorrow, and it's been a long day. I'm beginning to feel tired."
We climbed up into the hut, which was dark inside now. The light of the jungle was fading to a soft golden brown, the sky over the west having turned to a dark crimson. The hammocks felt sturdy, so we tried climbing into them, swinging wildly until we steadied them. When I lay down, enfolded by the soft cloth like in a cocoon, it continued swinging slowly, like rocking me to sleep. The forest became noisy now, screeches which I knew were frogs came from the river's edge. I also knew these frogs were on our planet monitoring list, as they were threatened by climactic changes. The frogs were our first warning that Earth's ecosystem was at risk. Still, it was good to hear them singing to one another.
The fire had been built up again to cast a flickering light around our camp, and a gibbous moon rose over the horizon. Somehow we felt safe in our long cocoons. A light breeze picked up where there was none earlier, and we rocked gently lying side by side. It was still warm. A lizard scurried overhead and then left the hut. The darkness outside was relieved now only by the rich moon, which shone white on the jungle clearing. It felt peaceful.
"Maya. There's someone coming!"
We lay very still, only our heads peering over the sides of our hammocks. By the light of the moon we could see a distant figure at the river's edge. We could make out by silhouette that the figure was pulling up a small boat onto the shore, and then turned towards us. It was carrying a long thin object in its right hand, which hung down, as if limp. The person's steps were unhurried. In the other hand was held another object which looked like a bundle tied to a string. San'aa and I froze. I knew mother had her hand on one of the pistols. I could hear the click of the safety latch. The figure came closer to the hut now. We could see better by the light of the fire and the white moon. It was a man.

Chapter 10: Josie.


"Olah! Tudo bem?" the man asked.
"Boa noite," mother answered, at long last. "Is it okay for us to be here?" She had studied her Brazilian Portuguese before we left.
"Sim, of course."
The man approached closer to the fire. We could see that in one hand he held a large machete, and in the other was a string attached to a bundle of fish. They were dead. He looked up at us grinning. I felt he was happy to have company. I passed this on to San'aa. I could hear the safety click back into place. His mind posed no danger to us.
"Are you camping here?" he asked, truly puzzled to find us here. "But where is your boat?"
Mother's mind was quickly rehearsing various answers she had prepared for such an encounter.
"We had an argument with our guide, so we asked to be let off here. He is gone."
"Then you are stranded?" A momentary flash of malice crossed his mind, then quickly left.
"Is this your farm?" I asked.
He turned to me, surprised to find a child. He smiled. The fire light revealed strong white teeth in a finely featured longish face covered with black curly hair. His eyes looked green on his skin dark. There was potential mischief in those eyes, the eyes of a semi-wild young man. He was part Indian.
"No. The people who lived here have left for a new farm. So we use it sometimes when out in the jungle around here. As you see, I have been out fishing." He pointed to his fish with his machete, then turned back to us. "Would you like some dinner?"
San'aa and I both spoke to each other silently, instantly coming up with the same answer: "Yes! Thank you. Por favor."
"Obregado." The tall man looked pleased and stared at us a moment, and then turned to the fire to stoke it up again. We descended from our perches and sat legs dangling off the platform floor. The man then went into the bush and began hacking at branches. He came back presently with several long green twigs, from which he hacked off the leaves with his long knife, cut them shorter and began weaving them into what looked like two large mesh screens. These he tied at one edge with a kind of hinge.
"I will make dinner," he said, deftly working his machete.
The man worked in silence, getting the cooking fire ready, spreading the coals, erecting four forked posts to hold the twigs in place. Then, at a distance from the camp, he cleaned the fish with his knife, and carelessly threw the remains away from us. "Ants," he once turned and grinned at us. We knew about the ants, so grinned back. Then he came back to the fire, his tall figure bent over it, rearranging the red hot coals, and carefully placing the twig mats with the fish sandwiched inside over the four posts. A sizzling sound soon rose from the flames as the fish juices fell into the flames. A pleasant odor began inviting us for the coming feast.
Then the man disappeared into the clearing again, hacked at something, and came back holding a large pineapple in his hand.
"Where are you from?" he asked, holding the pineapple before him, as if studying it.
We both answered almost in unison, a well rehearsed answer gotten from the passports we carried: "America."
"Oh? Then you speak good Brazilian, with a funny accent." He studied us a brief moment, then added: "I have a good friend from North America. His name is Jack. But we all call him Bates. I knew him from boyhood. Do you know him?"
He smiled a broad smile when he said this. We could tell he liked his friend, as if pleasant memories rose instantly from their many adventures together.
"No. America is a big country. What is your name?" Mother asked.
"Josie. And yours?"
"My name is San'aa, and this is my daughter, Maya."
"Muito prazer. It's a great pleasure to meet you. Welcome to my country."
The fish was calling to him to be turned over, so he quickly and deftly lifted the screen and turned if over, again careful not not drop dinner onto the fire. It sizzled on the other side now.
"Would you like some pineapple with the fish?"
"Yes!" I answered, a bit too eagerly. The smell of the frying fish made me hungry again.
"Good. This is a good one."
He then lopped off the green top and its bottom, and then began slicing pieces with his large machete. He looked around for something to put them in, snatched a large leaf from a nearby tree and place them neatly on the leaf next to us. Then he cut the round pieces into quarters and nodded that it was okay to eat them. We tried a piece and, as he had said, it was very good and sweet. Then Josie returned to the fish. He again snatched some leaves and, using them as plates, carefully laid down the prepared fish. He smiled as he placed them in our hands. There was a friendly aura to the man, and it felt good eating in his presence.
"Do you like it?" he asked, with genuine concern.
"It is very good, Josie. I have not had fish for a very long time."
Josie looked puzzled, then San'aa quickly added:
"That was this good, that is."
"Oh?" He seemed relieved, somehow, with that answer. "I have come here before with Bates. Some people call him Gary. How can a man have so many names?"
"Do you have more than one name?"
"My real name is Quieroz Mundo. I am Indian and Portuguese, but my great grandfather was African. His name was Josie, so I took his name. He was a great hunter, so Bates suggested I take his name."
"I am African too," answered San'aa. "But my grandfather was Italian."
"Then that is why you are lighter skinned." He flashed his green eyes at us. "And I have European ancestry too. I guess I am a true Brazilian." We all laughed, it being something of a joke with him.
"You know this Jack Bates quite well, no?" I asked.
"We were friends from when very little. His father came here from the United States to work a large plantation. The family moved in later and all lived not far from here. My family then went to work on his farm and we all became very good friends. Bates and I played together for a long time in the jungle. Then, years later, he left."
"Was the farm sold?" I asked.
"No. It was too difficult for them. Their cattle died, and the land flooded a few times, killing their crops. Then, I was told, the price for lumber rose, so a large company wanted their jungle. They refused to sell, and were given a very hard time."
"So they went back to North America?"
Josie thought about it awhile, deciding how much he should tell. But then decided there was no harm.
"His father was wanted by the authorities because he owed money. So one night he packed them all up and they escaped. Later, I found out, that he high-jacked an airplane, at gun point, and they flew out of the country. I believe they first went to Venezuela, and then back to America."
"That's quite a story."
"But it is true. Then I grew up and went on to university at Sao Paolo, before I came back to my world. It is much better here than... But I am actually a scientist."
We picked greedily at our fish and finished it in silence by the strong light of the moon. The fire had died down now, and our eyes adjusted to the jungle's natural light. When we had finished and discarded the remains away from the hut, Josie said we should now sleep. He asked if we were warm enough, to which we answered yes. He had a blanket in his boat, which he retrieved, and laid it down on the plank floor. Then he went over to the fire and added some heavier pieces of wood, to keep away the jaguars, he said. After San'aa and I climbed back into our hammocks, Josie curled up on the floor and pulled the blanket around himself. Soon we all drifted off into peaceful sleep.
I woke at times during the night, listening to the jungle's many sounds. At one of these wakings, snugly held in the hammock, which I had pulled closer around me, as if was getting cool, I could hear distant sounds that sounded like an animal roar. As I lay there, another roar answered the first, but much closer now. Josie stirred, as did San'aa.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Only jaguar. They prowl this part of the forest. But the fire will keep them away."
"I'm glad," mother answered.
"I want to see them!" I cried.
"They're dangerous, love."
"I have garlic on me, so they will not come," Josie added, sleepily.
Just then, I could see two small lights from the edge of the forest. They shone our way then retreated.
"I think I can see it," I whispered loud enough for all to hear.
"Oh? Where?"
"Directly across the clearing."
All rose to look. The eyes came back on. I could sense a strong curiosity coming from them, as if wondering what we were all about. And I could sense they could smell food. As we lay there, looking, the eyes slowly made their way out of the jungle growth. They moved out into the clearing and, past the tree stumps, by the light of the moon, we could see it was a lean and beautiful animal. It crept stealthily towards us.
"He smells the fish," Josie venture.
"It's a she," I corrected.
"How do you know?" He seemed puzzled.
Realizing my error, I quickly added: "I think I saw cubs behind her." But none were there. "Maybe I made a mistake." But mother knew.
"I think it is a she, also."
"Well, if you both think it is a she, then it is." Josie laughed to himself. "And she smells the fish."
We all watched the lean jaguar creep closer, as if inspecting us at a distance, judging whether it was safe to approach. Then a distant roar sounded from deep in the jungle, and the mother jaguar answered. It startled us, she being so close, that our nape hairs rose.
"How fast can she run?" I asked, my eyes straining to see better.
"Very fast."
The she jaguar came very close now, sniffing at the ground. From time to time, she would look our way and then continue smelling the ground. She found the fish scraps and ate them noisily, ignoring us. Then she turned towards the camp again. Josie was beginning to feel nervous. She was close enough now where we could see her shadow by the moon. Josie slowly undid his blanket and crouched forward, himself like a jaguar. He snorted to himself. The jaguar stopped. He was thinking he should have built a bigger fire, but this one seemed unafraid. He cleared his throat. Then mother sat up. She was searching in her bag, and finally pulled out a dark shape. I feared it might be the pistol, instinct for preservation was so strong in her, but it did not feel right. She held something in her hand and pointed it at the animal, which now stopped a short distance from the fire. In a blinding blue flash, she yelled out:
"Shoo!"
It startled Josie, who asked:
"What was that?"
"My lighter," she whispered.
At the sight of the bright flash, the jaguar turned and leapt away in large bounds back into the bush. It her mind, it was gun fire, without noise, and she quickly retreated out of reach. She had played it too close and returned to her kittens. The night meal would have to come from elsewhere.
"That was a good trick, San'aa," Josie ventured, at long last. "You have a strong lighter."
"It is an old trick I learned in Africa. It worked on hyenas."
"Oh?" He smiled. "Then I will remember it. I did not want to have to use my machete against her powerful claws. Let's hope she does not return."
"She won't," I answered.
After Josie added more wood to the fire, we all turned back to our sleep. As I lay there, I thought to myself how we had made contact with life on Earth. It was a pleasant thought that pulled me slowly into a distant trance. I supposed the ants were first. Then I drifted off feeling peaceful inside, yet excited by the experience. Darkness took over again. Dawn would soon be here.



Chapter 11: The Village.

Before it was fully light, I climbed out of my hammock and down from the platform. Josie was still curled like a large animal inside his blanket. I could see his face better now. It was a handsome face. San'aa was still cocooned in her hammock, asleep. I added some small branches to the warm coals, letting them catch in their own time. The sky still had stars in it, but the large moon had set beyond the horizon. Only the faint glow from the sky offered light now. I looked up at the sky. Somewhere, out there, was my world, our Ships, Master and Seth and Kahla, an the Dreamers. I knew Tenya was still here, as was my father. This I knew from deep inside. But he was very far away.
A soft mist rose from the river, as if enveloping all the sleeping things in a blanket of safety. The frogs had quieted, but a new noise rose from the jungle tops. It was not the birds. This time, it was monkeys. They had not been there the day before, but obviously they travelled in troops and made their way to the clearing to get a better look at us. I smiled when I saw them perform their acrobatics in the tree branches. They tossed fruit and seeds to the ground, to get my attention, so I looked up at them. They chattered and seemed pleased for having been noticed.
The mist on the river moved slowly, gradually lifting as daylight penetrated the forest floor. One by one, the stars left their places in the sky, revealing a lovely blue day. The sun crested the thick foliage behind us and the monkeys settled down for breakfast. The water, now no longer dark, flowed silently past its banks. I looked at the reddish pebbles at my feet by the water's edge, and picked one up, different from the others, and put it my my pocket. Looking up at a tree, I saw a large brown and furry spider. Perfectly still, it clung to the tree trunk nestled in between long sharp needles. I stared at it for awhile and then returned to the hut. The fire had rekindled itself, lifting blue smoke over the camp. San'aa stirred and Josie rose from his blanket.
"Good morning."
"Bom dia."
Josie stood and stretched his full length to where his trousers, which were thin and muddied, pulled up to his shins. His hair was thick and black, like a shaggy wooly blanket over his head. And his eyes were a mysterious green, like they spoke of wisdom and mischief all at the same time. He smiled and his good looks spoke of a friendship that was already established between us. We had survived the night in the jungle, and that somehow bonded us.
"Did you restart the fire?"
"Yes. I thought of the jaguar."
He laughed, saying the jaguar was now far into the jungle. "They are not as bold in daylight."
When San'aa rose, hearing us talking, she also came over to the water's edge. She reached down and washed her face, as I had seen her do at home. It was an old Earth custom of hers. Josie did the same. So I figured I would too. There are no Light showers here, so keeping clean was a different matter. Master was even thoughtful enough to give us a small bar of soap.
"We need to get to Manaus," San'aa said, after washing.
"Today?" inquired Josie.
"Best if today."
"But I wanted you to meet my friend Bates."
"He's here?"
"He was out hunting yesterday. Didn't I tell you? He is visiting from America, on some mission, which he would not share with me."
"Why wouldn't he tell you? You are close friends."
"He said it could be dangerous for me to know. It is a big secret. But he should be at the village today."
Josie picked some ripe oranges, and peeled them for us. He very carefully cut into their skins with his big knife, and then pulled back the peels. These he then handed to us.
"I would make you tea or coffee, but I don't have any. Only manioc. You want some?"
"I guess so. What's manioc?" I asked.
"Here. I will show you. It is made from a root." He ran back to the hut and pulled down the small bag we saw hanging the day before. Carefully undoing the string, so as to not spill the contents, he dipped into the sack and pulled out a dry flour, which he then put in his mouth and let it melt before chewing. "You never had this?"
I took some and also put it in my mouth. It was tasteless, but coarse and hard, like eating sand. Shortly, it dissolved some and became more appetizing.
"Very good. Mother, try some."
San'aa did the same, made a quizzical face, and then swallowed. She also said it was good, but I could tell she wasn't being totally honest. In fact, neither was I. But it felt nutritious, so I took more. Then I ate my orange, to get rid of the taste. Josie also cut into a stick of sugar cane, which San'aa took also. I did not like its taste, so declined.
We all repacked our belongings, mother careful not to reveal the pistols, and went back to the river bank. Josie pulled the boat back into the water, and signaled that we should get in.
"It looks very small." San'aa was studying it. "Are the waters safe for travel in this?"
He flashed us a smile.
"It is steady, if you sit down. And sit still! How big was your boat?"
We looked at each other, so I answered: "Much bigger. But it was not a dugout canoe like this."
"I will row from the front. I only have one paddle. Maya sit behind me and San'aa, if it's okay, push us into the water and then sit in back."
Josie and I got in, and mother pushed us into the river, then before getting wet jumped in lightly. She sat down promptly to not rock the small canoe, and Josie applied his oar to the water. The water line was very close, so another person would have swamped us, but we were fine. The river was very smooth, and Josie took us down it with steady and quiet strokes, leaving small eddies behind.
The morning air was cool, but already sticky with moisture. The jungle slid past us, birds darting from the trees above, calling to each other. Parrots were the noisiest. "Look! A canary!" Josie would call when he saw a bird he could identify. "See! Alligators, over there!" They were basking themselves on the far bank in the early sun. By daylight the jungle was very green. We paddled along the shore, weaving in and out of mangroves, staying clear of the current further out, which would have taken us the wrong way. Josie's worn shirt was already getting covered with sweat. But for us passengers, it was a pleasant outing, as if on a placid plane. Momentarily I flashed to the Fallah'Ans. There was something magic about the stillness of a large plane, like this smooth body of water. Somehow, it seemed universal. We floated past its banks unspeaking, just taking in the beauty of the thick jungle around us.
As Josie rowed tirelessly, I reflected on how all this was new to me, all seen in minute detail for the first time. Yet, at the same time, it seemed impossibly old, as if some part of me remembered it all from very long ago. I was at home, on my mother's strange world, where I truly was an alien. The paddle strokes quietly broke the water and returned again, for the next stroke. It was hypnotic, and peaceful. But I knew this was a troubled world. If only everyone from all over the world came here and experienced this, I wondered, would they leave the same? But then, with so many people here, with all their troubles brought along as unwanted baggage, their problems would remain, and be brought here too. I decided it was not a good idea. Better to leave this peacefulness to the solitude it enjoys. What was the answer for Earth? I wondered. It was a world so troubled not only by her social dysfunctions, but now by her ecological ones as well. I thought of the frogs last night singing their mournful ballad, as if in farewell. The Dreamers said they would be the first ones to die. The sea plankton would be next, and with it Earth's oxygen. My peaceful solitude turned to melancholy, and I stopped thinking. At long last, Josie turned our little boat into a narrow channel that ran off the main river and stopped between two bushes that hid it from view, where started a well travelled jungle trail. We were there.
We got out and Josie pulled the little boat into the bush, away from the water's edge. We single filed behind him on the trail towards his village. The trees looked tall around us, vines hanging down, flowers on some of the plants rising from the soft and fragrant, loamy soil. Light filtered from above and birds flew above us, some calling in a shrill voice, as if to announce our arrival. At one tree, Josie stopped and cut several pieces of bark from it at the base. These he put into his shirt pocket and we walked on.
"Why did you cut that tree, Josie?" I asked, after thinking about it.
"It is breo, the sappy bark of a certain tree. I use it as a fire starter."
"Do you use all the trees?"
"Many. They have different properties. I have learned it from my grandfather, who knew much more than I do. See that tree over there? It is Canapana-uba. It's bark is useful for if you have a cough. And that over there, is for stomach problems."
He pointed these out to us as we walked by. Then he stopped abruptly, frozen in his tracks. He motioned to us to stay perfectly still. A large snake crossed our path and slid into the underbrush on the other side. When it had gone sufficiently far from the path, he waved that it was okay to go again.
"Was the snake poisonous?" San'aa wanted to know.
"Yes. Very poisonous. We don't like having it so close to the village, but I would not try to catch it alone."
"I saw a large furry spider this morning."
Josie stopped and looked at me.
"Was it brown, about the size of my hand?"
"Yes, that's it. It was very still, so I did not touch it."
"That was a jungle tarantula. It is fatal in an hour if it bites you. You should never go near it, as it can jump more than three meters. You are lucky."
Mother gave me a grave look of concern, as if I should have been more careful. But I truly did not know it was so dangerous. I guess I was lucky.
At a fair distance from the river, children came running over to us from the bush to greet us. But realizing we were strangers, they quickly stopped talking and laughing and became very shy. They had markings on their faces and arms, as if painted, and they wore almost no clothes. Their bare feet made no noise on the soft ground, and they had actually snuck up on us to surprise us. Now they were at a loss of what to do, as it was they who were surprised. Josie called to them.
"Has my friend Bates come back from the jungle?"
Amid giggles with hands over their faces, they mustered the courage to answer him.
"No. He was gone all night. We have not seen him two days! We thought you were him."
"Then go and tell my mother we are hungry, and to have coffee ready!"
They scampered off, but not without turning from time to time to look at me. I was small like them, and this made them very curious, in spite of my different dress. Within a hundred meters, we entered the open village field. Thatched houses and hammocks were scattered on its perimeter.
"Mother, I have visitors."
"I know, the children came screaming it to me. I am boiling some coffee." Then turning to us, she gave us a generous smile. "Welcome."
Then to us, Josie introduced: "This is my mother, Consuela. But call her Connie." And then to his mother: "This is San'aa and her daughter, Maya."
"We are honored, Connie," mother replied. I stood by her, suddenly shy. This was a village full of people like her, dark and beautiful.
"We almost never get visitors here, so it was such a surprise to have first our old friend Bates show up. And now you? Do you know him?"
"No. We only know of him through Josie. He too is American, he says."
"Yes. His family and ours were very good friends, back in the days before my husband died. But they had gone back, though they write sometimes. It is wonderful to see their young master grown up now. He is a fine man."
Some of the other villagers now gathered around, having gladly abandoned whatever chores they were doing for a chance to look at us. Most were truly Indian featured, some with only a cloth and string around their waist, women too. They were also decorated, like the children, with paint and braided vines, which were woven tightly around the upper arms or above their calves. I wanted to go off and play, but the children had again disappeared into the jungle. Chickens now pecked where they played. Connie prepared the coffee and served it with sugar and a white liquid. She said they keep goats and had milk. I tasted the coffee and gave it back to my mother. So Connie poured me a cup of milk. It tasted strong and bitter, too, but I made an effort to drink it. I had learned from my tapes that it was never, ever correct to refuse food from an alien host. San'aa loved the coffee. She said it was good and strong.
The other villagers returned to their work. After perfunctory introductions, they were satisfied to have met new strangers. Josie and Connie's family was obviously of a higher status here, and their home was the largest, two floors high, with a veranda. We sat on the veranda now, looking out over the village plaza. This was not a temporary village, though we learned families came and went at will. The small settlement even had a school, where Josie taught, when the occasion arose to do so. Now, the children were just playing, as they wished. He said this was an education for them as well. The jungle had much to teach them. Just then, they came running back, eager to share news with us.
"He is coming!"
"Did you surprise him?" Josie asked.
"No. He is lost off the trail, so we did not try. He looks angry."
"Lost? Bates? I can't imagine. He knows this jungle almost as well as I do. Or he did."
Just then we could hear a crashing off to the side of the village. Audible cursing punctuated the slash of machete on foliage. Josie looked grinning in the direction of the noise. We could now see a tattered hat, like a tan cowboy hat, bobbing in the bush. Then his arm gave a final swing to some vines in his way, and he emerged from the green curtain. The man was not tall, but strong and wiry, his face set in that look of determination that I would sometimes see on adult faces when a hard task was at hand. His light cotton shirt and trousers were stained and disheveled, and in places torn. His hat sat crookedly on his head. His boots stepped out into the clearing and he looked our way.
"Curse this damned jungle! It got the better of me!" He came over to us and put down his heavy sack, and then smiled. Josie was still smiling at seeing his friend in this state.
"I'd like you to meet Bates."



Chapter 12: Bates.

"Howdy, ma'am. Little ma'am." He casually tipped his hat.
There was sweat dripping from his forehead, and his hat was stained around the head band. He had a light growth of beard, which covered his strong chin, and his brown eyes had humor in them. He seemed immensely amused by the absurdity of his entry into the village. Obviously, he had lost the trail and had to hack his way back. He put down the machete on his bag, and strode up to us on the veranda. He had a strong and lively step.
"Made you a new trail, Josie."
Mother was also amused.
"Pleased to meet you," she said in English. I said the same.
He offered us his hand, which we shook in turn. It had a solid grip. Then he switched to excellent Portuguese to Josie. "I see you keep handsome company."
"I found them by the river last night."
"Oh?" Bates looked at us with a question in his mind. But he did not ask it.
"And what were you doing in the jungle, by yourself?" asked San'aa.
"Looking for gold."
"Find any?"
"Found a large anaconda, that eyed me for its next meal," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Josie took an instant interest.
"Where? It could be food for the village."
"Too far from here to carry that beast. It must have been four hundred kilos. Quite a specimen. Could have taken a whole cow, with only horns showing when it belched, my dad used to say."
We were not sure if to believe him. Though I knew he did see a large snake. Maybe anaconda. Bates seemed amused at the idea, of the cow. I pulled the stone from my pocket.
"Is this gold? I found it by the river."
Bates took it in his hand.
"I bushwhack for two days, and you hand it over to me. My little ma'am, it certainly is gold. A bit rough, but gold. Mind if I go and look there myself?"
"No. I have no use for it."
"Oh?"
He again looked at me with that puzzle in his eyes. Then the other children came running over, holding an iguana lassoed around its neck. They were eager to show it to me. I went over to play with them, they dragging the iguana trying to escape. I was careful of its teeth. It offered us all amusement, though I was sad over the creatures unhappiness. The adults stayed on the veranda, talking.
When I came back to them later, tired of seeing the poor animal tortured, I again joined them in their conversation. The children could tell that I was not enthusiastic about their games and went off to play in the jungle. Though I had never said anything about the cruelty of their game, they finally let the iguana go. I was glad.
"So it is all decided," Josie went on. "I will take you two to Manaus, and Bates will go in search of gold."
"Just give me a day. Then I would be glad to help you find your friend, if you hadn't."
"It's not Tenya I'm concerned about. It is Paul we came to look for. Tenya is to help us find her."
"We'll find him. I'm sure of it," added Bates. He had a self confidence about him I liked. "Josie and I know all the jungle around here. He already may have told you how we both grew up here. This jungle was our back yard."
"So we will leave first thing in the morning," said Josie. "You may rest here at our house the night." Connie nodded in approval.
As dusk fell, the village lit up with little cooking fires. There was no electric power here, no radios, nor televisions, as is common on Earth. The sounds that came from the huts were those of families coming together for the night, children laughing or crying. Parents calling to them in the dark. The jungle again resumed its night cries, including distant jaguars. The chatter of monkeys slowly ebbed and birds found their night roosts. Soon, it was the crickets and frogs who took over their night vigil. We gathered around Connie's cooking fire for a dinner of delicious fried bananas and rice and beans. Bits of meat were added to the meal, which neither San'aa nor I touched. Again, Bates studied this and made a mental note. He had something on his mind.
As we sat cross legged on the house grass mats, hammocks hanging empty between the walls, Josie went over the planned itinerary.
"When I drop you off in the city, I will make inquiries, discreetly. I will tell them I am looking for a tourist who was lost, giving them only Paul's physical description. If he was arrested by the authorities near here, I know the people to ask. I have friends at the police station. It is not far from the opera house."
"Have you been to the opera?" Bates asked.
"A couple of times. It is a beautiful palace. I have culture too," he smiled, "even if I choose to live in the jungle. I even have city clothes." Then he pulled out a pipe, lit it and passed it on to Bates, who took a long drag from it, holding his breath. He then passed it to San'aa, who declined, saying it would affect her lungs. They went on smoking, feeling better and better, it seemed, even if they were saying things making less sense. They would break into a sentence, and then leave it hanging part way, as if they had forgotten what they were trying to say. The pipe was small and made of stone, and I suspected its contents held a mild, mind altering herb. But they were old friends, and smoking it seemed to give them harmless pleasure, even if they did get giggly, or at times strangely silent.
"About tomorrow... well do a trip by motor... heh, heh... boat, to Manaus... when we get there... past the water falls..." and they would stare into the night, thinking about it, nodding. The village had grown quiet again, its inhabitants having turned in for the night. A steady rain had started falling. It was time to bring the day to a close. Tomorrow, we had to find Tenya.



Chapter 13: Manaus.


"Bons dias!" It was Connie, greeting us in the early morning light. "Dormiu bem?"
"Sim, muito bem, we slept very well," I answered, eager to see the new day.
Connie smiled and directed us to share in breakfast. I passed this time on the milk and took some fruit juice instead. The meal had the same rice and black beans, but the manioc was what I wanted to try again. I had since learned it was made form the cassava root, which has a highly poisonous juice, but when drained and baked on the large baking tables in the shed by the house, its flour was very nutritious. It was an acquired taste.
The clouds had passed, and the morning smelled fresh and sweet in the early light. The sun was out now. Over breakfast, I studied Connie's face by the light filtering through the tall trees. She had a handsome face, with strong Indian features. I could see where Josie got his good looks. And there was an honesty in that face. Like she had seen much life, some of it difficult, and resolved to face it with goodness rather than meanness. I liked her.
After breakfast, we all left for the water falls. Goodbyes were given to all in the small village. We met some men leaving for a hunt, short bows and quivers of long arrows on their backs. Others had very long tubes, which were blow guns from which they shot short and thin natural spines tipped in poison. There was so much poison here, I thought. But the people were friendly and cordial. They were descended, we learned, from the Yanonamo who lived further north, and had migrated here some time ago in search of an easier living. Now, it seemed, some were going back to the old ways. They were shedding their city clothes for the more natural ways of the jungle. But their young people still left. Few marriageable men or women were seen, as they had left for school or to work in the city. But in time, they were expected to return, like Josie. They were a very good looking people.
We then said goodbye to Connie and thanked her for her kind hospitality. She said we were always welcome.
Down a wide jungle trail, not the one we took yesterday, we came to the loud roar of water coming off a cliff. Here, we all stripped off our clothing and happily plunged into a clear, cool pool at the base of the fall. None seemed conspicuous for their lack of clothing, as it seemed a very natural thing to do, both the men and women. It seemed half the village was here. I saw them drink freely from the rushing water coming off the fall, so I did too. It tasted sweet, like it had been filtered by the jungle's fragrant aroma. Josie had said the water was good to drink.
We reached the river landing and put ourselves into a long metal boat with an outboard motor. Josie was at the helm and when the motor roared to life, Bates pushed us off and waved to us from the shore. This time we headed straight for the open waters of the main channel of the river and left the village landing, where other boats were tied, and rushed away leaving long series of wakes. As we sped by the jungle towards the city, the shores again hid the nearly impenetrable growth within. We were going too fast to see the smaller wild life, the wind strong in our face, but I could spot herons and egrets fishing the palms on the shore. They looked stately and had an air of ignoring us, though they were not. We also passed small boats, as we got closer to more habitations and villages, the people waved to us, and then bobbed up and down in our passing wake. Within a couple of hours, after many twists and turns in the river, we finally reached the open waters of the Amazon. It was a great river, its waters black and murky with sediment. There were many boats now, of all sizes, plying its vast stretch. On the shores were more habitations, and when we began approaching the city, these became very dense. Boats were moored or pulled up by the shores. The coast looked littered with man made objects which, after the rich beauty of the jungle, seemed somehow incongruous and ugly. We had arrived at our destination.
Perhaps it was the pain of seeing what had happened to this beautiful river that made me think of Paul. I feared for him, like some vast and incomprehensible trap of foulness had sprung around him and he could not escape. I could almost feel his suffering, which continued to make me believe he was still alive. I asked San'aa if she felt it too, but she did not. For now, she was taking first things first, and that meant finding Tenya.
"Here is the dock where most people dock," Josie shouted over the roar of the motor, as he pulled us into a narrow space wedged between hundreds of boats of all sizes. Some could have been cruise ships, but they were only river ferries. "There is another dock, but it is strictly for commercial traffic, the famous floating dock, and I could take you there, if you need to. But I will be gone for two hours, and then will return here."
With that, he pulled the boat onto the river's edge and we jumped off. Sinister eyes spied us suspiciously from the other boats, rough men with unshaven faces and tattered clothing. Above us was a large wall, and beneath it, lining both the river and the wall, stretched rows of shanties. These seemed to be the activity of the riverfront, so San'aa and I decided to walk to them.
"Do you have coffee or tea?" mother asked at one of the shanty stalls that seemed to serve as an eating establishment. "And can my little girl have fruit juice?"
"Yes, coffee, and I have merengata. The ice is from filtered water. Would you like pineapple, papaya, melon, orange?"
"Make it two merengatas." Mother looked at me, and then said: "Papaya for me and melon for my daughter."
The woman immediately busies herself with preparing our drinks, grinding the bits of fruit with ice and milk in a blender. The low level din of the market place mixed with the sounds and smells of the river and boat engines. A horn would announce of a ship passing too close, or leaving the shore. People milled about, all paying no attention to us. We must have looked like we belonged. But after three days in the jungle, in spite of our bath, we no doubt looked tired and unwashed. We fit in nicely.
"No sign of Tenya?" mother asked.
"Not here." Then I added, as we awaited our drink: "Funny. I have been having such a good time with you, I almost don't want to find her."
"I know, my love. Me too. I have gotten to like being on Earth again so much that I hate to leave. But we must follow Seth's directions.
Our drinks were served, and they were very refreshing. We continued looking about, then San'aa asked the owner of the booth:
"Have you seen a woman here, about my age, brown hair, light skinned? She may be dressed like us."
"I see people like you all the time, but never take notice. Most are tourists from somewhere far away. I could always tell because they carry cameras. Where is your camera?"
This brought a smile to our faces, as she was right about being from far away.
"We don't like to carry a camera. Is that your little girl in the hammock? How old is she?"
Suddenly filled with a mother's pride, the woman went over to the hammock where the baby was waking and picked her up to show us.
"She is three months." She held her up for us to admire her, which we did. Then she placed her gently back in the hammock, cooing over her. This made her much more friendly to us. "I will be on the lookout for her, your friend. If I see her, what should I say?"
"Her name is Tenya. Tell her to wait for us here, and we will find her." In fact, Tenya is about twice mother's age, but aging is different on our world.
We finished our drinks, paid in large bills, and wandered off down the river front again, but as we were now approaching what appeared to be very humble living quarters, we decided it best to turn back.
"Maybe we should go to the other docks," I suggested, at long last. The day was now hot, and the sounds from the river had grown oppressive.
"Let's go. I think I know how to find them, from what Bates told me."
We walked down towards the large bridge, and then turned up a dirt road that took us onto the paved streets of the city. As we passed some of the boats, men called out to us, in sinister tones, it seemed. We ignored them, trying not to attract unwanted attention. I did not want to have to use the pistols. But they looked like they would not hesitate.
So this was an Earth city, I thought. It was busy to madness, cars and trucks rolling past us on wheels, some belching and sputtering as they went by. I knew Brazil's engines all ran on alcohol, so there was not the pollution I expected, though it was polluted nevertheless. The air did not have the sweetness of the jungle. People were everywhere, sitting outside the buildings, walking the sidewalks of the streets. Buildings in various states of decay lined these, with gaping holes, which I knew were the windows and doors. I had never seen a city like this, in all my travels on all the worlds. Earth's had a unique characteristic of controlled chaos. I wondered if this was not a metaphor for the planet. I remembered the ocean.
We ran from oncoming vehicles, which showed no signs of stopping, and escaped hawkers who shouted something about jungle tours, some clinging to our sleeves. San'aa and I hung onto our bags in this confusing chaos and finally found our way to the other docks. There the traffic thinned but people were still everywhere. Tall and stately buildings aspiring to a now faded opulence marked where the docks began, very different from the shanties we left. Larger ships were docked here. We walked about, searching for Tenya, but also with no success. So we returned to where we came from, keeping in mind Josie would return there.
When we arrived at the river's crowded edge, we could hear a voice calling.
"San'aa! Maya!" We could not immediately make out from where it came, then we saw arms waving to us from a boat.
"Tenya!" We both cried in unison. A medium sized boat with a pilot house was approaching the shore, but no where could we see for it a place to land. Tenya was jumping up and down in anticipation. I could feel her clearly now, and she was eager to come to us. The pilot brought the boat closer in, stopped at the stern of one of the boats docked, and Tenya jumped off onto this other boat and ran its length to the shore. She jumped off with a flourish, arms outstretched for us.
"Oh, am I glad to see you!"
"And you!" cried San'aa. "We were beginning to despair." Tenya could tell from our minds that we did not have an easy time in the city. And neither did she.
"I had to get away from here, so took a boat upriver. When did you get here? And I was being followed."
"We got here about two hours ago. By whom?"
"Two men always seemed to show up wherever I was. I don't know for sure, but they gave me the impression, they wanted me to lead them to something."
"The ship. They want your ship," I said, matter of factedly.
"You may be right, Maya. They know I landed it not far from here, and are probably searching for it this moment."
"How did you hide it?"
By then, we had begun walking back into the city. Tenya had reserved a hotel room, so we were making our way there. It was at the Lord Hotel in the center of town.
"When I came down looking for Paul, following his distress call, I hit a powerful radar beam. It was carelessness on my part, as I did not have the Ship deaden the radar first. This threw my controls into chaos, and it was all I could do just to keep it from falling. My on board robot did an excellent job of repatching the sequence channels, so I could at least maneuver it towards a landing. It would have crashed without his help."
Tenya was telling us this in excited tones, as if she were reliving it again. Our minds were again all in tune, and she really did not need to use words, but it helped her rid herself of the tension she's carried all these days.
"Then how did you find a place to land?" I asked.
Mother nodded in agreement. She also wanted to know. The traffic was again drowning us in its maddening noise.
"I found a large tract of jungle the on board computer designated as a military preserve used only for jungle survival training. It had no habitations, or very little. So I directed it down to that spot just before dark. I was mindful of my cargo, so had to maintain total secrecy. I could not afford being seen. The landing was done on blackout, so no one could see me. I picked a spot with the tallest trees, and used the energy vector field to snap them at the base. Then, after I landed, I redirected the shields to move the fallen trees back over the craft, so it should be camouflaged from the air. Shortly after I landed, military helicopters started patrolling the area, but they did not see me."
By now we had switched to English, as we had entered the Lord Hotel, and had to play the part of tourists. Tenya continued in a low voice, so no one else could hear. We entered the restaurant and took seats away from the window.
"Could you fly it our again?" mother asked.
"Not on its own power. I would need to back up the vector fields to give it enough lift, then I could fly it back slowly to the Star-ship. So it would take two additional ships. Where is your ship?"
"It's back on Ka'ankh'an. Master brought us down. It would have been too dangerous to leave it on the surface."
Then Tenya wanted to know all about the signal she sent, and how did we get here so fast.
"So you haven't been in touch at all with Mira'anda?"
"No. I had no communications device. Neither did Paul. He was to do that portion of the Planet-walk without instruments. So I called the telephone space link, and then ditched the telephone. I had asked them to destroy the space link."
"They did as you asked. But we had difficulty finding your location."
"I knew the Dreamers could."
"They did. But at the time we left, we still had no word on Paul."
"That's a whole story in itself."
Just then, the waiter came, serving us coffee and juice. Two men dressed in tailored business suits had come into the restaurant. Tenya loked over at them and froze. They were the men she had mentioned.


Chapter 14: The Chase.

The men took a table by the door, blocking off our exit. We fell suddenly silent, like the feeling an animal has when it knows it is finally trapped. But submission was not Mother's way, and I could feel her mind active on some avenue of escape. There was another door, through the kitchen. The men looked at us, studying what to them was no doubt a new addition to their chase. I knew they were American agents. They had the clean look of officials groomed for technically correct behavior in the line of duty. Maybe that was their weakness, I thought. They could not act unless they had the facts supporting their suspicions. They were already very suspicious of Tenya. Now they were not sure what to make of San'aa and I, so they decided to observe instead. Just then, Josie came into the restaurant with a flourish.
"San'aa! My dear cousin, I have been looking all over for you!"
He came over to us in what looked like exaggerated strides, like he was in a great hurry. The other patrons looked up aghast at seeing what, to them, was a jungle native stride into their expensive hotel. After all, they were all impeccably dressed, as a badge of their higher status in this world, and here was an intruder who obviously belonged somewhere on the lower docks. Their faces made no secret of their displeasure at having their tidy little world punctured with such total disregard for their privilege. Josie ignored them completely and focussed on us. Then, in a voice a bit too loud:
"Come! Mother will be so pleased to see her sister's daughter again. Is this your friend Tenya, from America? It is a great pleasure to meet you. I see you found her after all!" Then to Tenya: "San'aa told me all about how you two got separated, and that you no doubt had been looking for each other all this time." Then to Maya: "Mother wants to meet you especially. She only knows of you from your mother's letters."
I could have died laughing, seeing Josie put on such a heavy theatrical performance. But I knew he was dead serious. He was getting us out.
We all followed him out of the restaurant, past the agents, who now looked down at their soup, as if to make us believe they were not there, and hurried past the hotel desk. As we passed this, Tenya turned aside and hurriedly said to the clerk to cancel her reservation at number 206. Then we went outside, only to find a car waiting for us. Bates was at the wheel.
"Get in, quick! " He ordered.
We all piled in, Josie taking the passenger seat in front. In no time, before the government agents could get their bearings, we left in a confusion of fast moving traffic. We went past the famous opera house and then up a busy road that took us to a highway. In no time, we had left the city. When we got over the shock of this sudden twist of events, San'aa asked"
"How did you know where to find..."
Josie did not let her finish. He was still so excited from the event.
"It was Bates. He followed you, unbeknown to you, the moment you left our village. But he took another route and went to his car instead, at the other end of the river."
Then Bates cut in.
"Yeah, I figured something was up, you looking for Tenya, and all. So I decided to be your back up. When I saw those two goons following you around, I didn't figure it was good. Then when you met up with Tenya at the river, and they were right there, I knew my hunch was right." He spoke quickly, also driving his car quickly. "And then when the goons followed you into the hotel, that was it. Josie and I quickly wrote a script to get you out." He then chuckled to himself. " Good job, Josie! By the way. You should know that back in the States, I'm a private eye. So this is all routine for me."
"What's a private eye, mother?"
"An investigator."
Then Josie added:
"When Bates told me what was happening, I knew I had to get you out of there. So we did."
Tenya finally got over the shock of what happened.
"Well, you were right Bates. Those men were the ones following me, and then San'aa. Thanks for getting us out. Thank you, Josie."
Josie and Bates made as if they were saluting.
"So where do we go now?" San'aa asked.
"I don't know, ladies," Bates answered. "You tell me."
Something flashed in my mind, something that did not make sense to me.
"There is one thing, Bates," I asked. "What's in it for you?"
"You're a smart little girl, Maya, for your age. And you're right. I'm in it for something. But I can't tell you."
"You don't have to. I already know."
"Oh?" He turned with surprise. "How can you know? You a mind reader?"
"On my world, it is normal."
Mother shot me a terrible look, like I had done something that was unforgivable. Bates pulled the car to the side of the road and quickly came to stop. He could not believe his ears. Tenya looked also shocked. And Josie was trying to figure out what was going on.
"So you are who I thought you were!" Bates finally exclaimed, triumphantly.
"Yes. We're from the Star-ship," I said.
"God damned mind readers," he said to himself. "Well, San'aa, Tenya, Maya, it is a great pleasure to meet you. I can't tell you how much."
Josie finally caught on to what was going on.
"You're Aliens?"
"Yes. Two of us are Aliens. San'aa is from your world."
"But she is your mother, right?"
"Yes. She is my mother."
"Boy. Am I out of it, or what? I thought you were tourists from America."
"That was our cover. You see, we lost a ship here in the jungle, and we must retrieve it. And my father, Paul, had been captured and we must get him back. So that is why we are here. But how do you fit into this, Bates?"
Bates stopped to think a moment, still unsure of how to proceed further, how much he could tell us. But then he spoke openly.
"I've been hired by CAUS. It stands for Citizens Against UFO Secrecy. Their contacts, which they call Project Moon Dust, told them there was a downed saucer in the Amazon. I immediately flew down from Dallas and began my investigation. I thought it was unbelievably good luck when Josie found you in the jungle. I had spent days in the jungle looking for the downed saucer. Even hired a helicopter, to no avail. And then, there you were! I listened to the things you said, and my suspicion proved right. So here we are."
"Why does CAUS care about us?" I asked further.
"Because they think the US government is holding out information. As representatives of the people, as elected officials, they have no right to do this. So CAUS is trying to make them confess. It's like pulling teeth from a chicken."
"I don't understand. Chickens have no teeth."
"Humor, little one. Just a joke. But really, I think we had better get off this road before the goons catch up with us."
Then Josie added his say.
"If you don't mind, Tenya, I'd like to take you back to my village. I think you will all be safe there."
"Why not? It seems, as they say on your world, the cat is out of the bag."
Josie looked puzzled, but Bates smiled, as he again resumed driving down the highway.
"As a scientist, now, not as a jungle Indian, I want you all to know that I totally support what Bates is doing. Letting you into the hands of the authorities would serve no purpose."
"I second that opinion," Bates added.
"Me too," I said. San'aa looked troubled, as did Tenya.
After we passed the police check point, and Josie paid the obligatory bribe, we pulled onto what seemed to be a deserted highway. Then mother asked:
"Bates? Does CAUS pay you well?"
"No. But they know this is my turf, and I enjoy the chase."
Josie now eyed us with greater curiosity. I wanted to know what had happened to my father. And Tenya wondered how was she going to get out of this mess. Mother had no thoughts. She only wanted us all to go back.


Chapter 15: The Plan.

It was dark by the time we all got back to the village. Connie was surprised, but pleasantly so, to find us return with Tenya. She truly enjoyed being the hostess. It had been agreed in advance that no one else can be told of our true identity, not even Connie. So after another bountiful dinner, Josie, Bates, Tenya, and mother and I, all retired to another hut to discuss our plan.
By the light of a small oil lamp, we all sat about a table like a group of conspirators. A village boy brought us cerveja, the local beer, and we plotted the next course. Tenya began by telling of what befell Paul. I made do with Connie's goat milk, which had actually begun to taste good.
"Paul was retracing Angel's steps in northern Venezuela, so he was headed there. But first..."
Bates interrupted.
"Who's Angel?"
"When Paul and I had first visited Earth on a reconnaissance mission, what we call a Planet-walk, Angel was the third party. You see," Tenya continued, "we were the first authorized people from our world to come to yours, officially."
"But nobody knew about it. And what about reports of alien abductions?"
"They happened against the wishes of a universal council called the Unity of Living Worlds. Your world had been under Quarantine for more than three thousand years, from people like us. As to why, well that's a long story. But suffice it to say that the people who had come here, before us three, had done so illegally. That's another long story. They have been since stopped."
"Okay. Go on with your story," Bates finally conceded
"While still in the Unites States, Paul had discovered the whereabouts of some of the bodies of the aliens who had been here illegally. He called the Star-ship, our mother ship in space, and that's where I came in. Paul and I then made it down into New Mexico and surveyed, through remote scanners, the top secret laboratories at Sandia and Los Alamos, high up in the mountains. One of these still held remains, so we stealthily descended onto their grounds, after the Star-ship incapacitated their electrical systems, and under the cover of darkness, and under total invisibility of our shuttle ship, we were able to steal into their laboratories..."
"Didn't the personnel at the laboratories try to stop you?" asked Josie.
"We had them temporarily hypnotized with our mind control equipment. So they could not recognize us, even if we bumped into them. And they were too busy trying to figure why all the lights went out to bother with us."
"Did you have disguises?"
I could see Bates hung onto every word, as did Josie. So did I.
"We had doned civilian clothes, with badges, which made us look like we belonged there. The ship was parked right inside their main gate. You have to understand that we had this place under remote surveillance, including their computers and telephone calls, so we knew where everything was, and what was needed. All this was done with permission from the Unity. Our goal was to get out the alien bodies, and their communications device, which we think is still there, or at another base."
"Did you find them?"
"We finally gained entry, using a special tool which duplicated electric power and the needed codes into one of their most top secret labs. Then we instructed the two robots aboard the shuttle craft to come and take the bodies away."
"Wait a minute! You got robots? God, I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie!" Bates was holding his head in his hands.
"I guess." Tenya seemed amused. "But not all aliens are monsters. Few are. What you see is pretty much the norm, as we know it, except for minor differences."
"But the abductors were freaky."
Josie sat silent through all this, as he was not familiar with what Bates was talking about.
"It was their bodies we were trying to retrieve."
"So what happened to them?"
"They're still aboard my ship."
"Out there, in the jungle? This is more than CAUS will believe. Who's taking care of them? Can you take us there?"
"Not until we find Paul. And the robots are quite capable of taking care of things in my absence. They've even been instructed to send out a powerful energy ray if anyone gets too close. So don't go near it."
"Okay. I hear you. Say, are we going to be invaded?"
"No. Nothing of the sort." Tenya now looked annoyed. I smiled, thinking back to mother's conversation earlier. How the government was terrified of being shown less than omnipotent. It seemed Bates shared the same fear.
"So after you got the bodies out, what happened?" San'aa wanted to know. Though she already had a good idea.
"I took Paul to his appointed landing point, near El Dorado, in Venezuela, and I was to return to the Ship to give the Ebh'ans back their fellow shipmates. You know, they've been kept in cold storage for over forty-five years."
"So what went wrong?" We all wanted to know.
Tenya sat back, and looked out into the starry night a moment. She had wanted to forget, but that was impossible. She had to face the fact that she had failed.
"We were detected on approach. It was a small boy who ran back to the town and gave word to the people there. When Paul stepped out, the police was already waiting for him, in an ambush. So he was captured."
"What did you do?" I asked, thinking frantic thoughts.
"I did the only thing I could do, at the time. I energized the mind control. But it was too late to get Paul back, so I sent out a powerful suggestion to the police officers that he was only a political prisoner, a crazy who had railed against them, and to let him go, as he was no further threat."
"But it didn't work..." Bates picked up the scent.
"Why didn't you just put the place on freeze and get him out, like you did at the base?" Josie asked.
"Because Paul was already in an armored vehicle, and I couldn't unlock it." She looked frantic. "You must believe me! They had some way of locking that motorized cell so you could not get into it. I called to Paul, and he answered me from inside, giving me the political prisoner idea. He figured that would put him into the least danger, especially if there were no warrants of arrest against him, only conjecture."
"So they took him away, thinking he's some lunatic politico." I added.
"Yes. They think he's some revolutionary nut."
"Does Father have a communicator?"
"No."
"Why didn't you just tell them he was the wrong man?" Bates asked.
"Because the message has to somehow approximate the reality of the situation, otherwise it won't work. It's a hypnotic process and their minds would simply block it."
"Oh?"
"So where is he now?" Josie had been following the whole thing with rapt attention, so now the questions were his.
"We don't know. The police records are not yet on computer, so we couldn't follow him there. And the phone messages were such a mess that I'm not sure the Venezuelan authorities even knew where he was. Remember, they were pretty confused for a few days. He could be anywhere."
"But probably in Venezuela, right?" Bates offered.
"Probably."
"Then El Dorado is our next logical step."
"One more thing," San'aa added. "We are here for a very limited time only. So we must do this with all possible speed. We have a preappointed rendezvous date."
Mother did not say that, in fact, she had to return earlier. Maybe she was going to disobey that order. I could not tell from her mind.
So now all was understood. We had put our fate in the hands of two Earth strangers, both of whom seemed like descent fellows. Bates was working for an agency trying to break the government's secrecy, and Josie had the clean mind of a scientist and honor bred of the jungle. But the group was too large, so it had to be split up. That was my idea. We decided that San'aa and I would travel with Josie, whereas Tenya would go with Bates. This way we could cover for each other, if need be. And I did not trust having them together. This was a way to split them apart. But the die was cast, and there was no turning back. So we had to trust them.
That night, when all were asleep in Josie's house, I snuck over to Tenya's hammock.
"Tenya, wake." I sent the message with a strong mental suggestion.
She bolted awake, and I signed for her to be silent. Then I handed her the pistol mother had given me.
"Take this, you may need it. Do you know how to use it?"
"Yes, I do. But why would you give it to me? You may need it too."
"I'd never use it for its intended purpose. And Mother has one. Here are the bullets."
"Does she know?"
"No. But I will tell her tomorrow. She will obey my wish."
"Your active little mind had better get some sleep. There is no Light source here to dispel the effects of conscious wakefulness."
"I know," I whispered. "I'll go to sleep now."


Chapter 16: The Priest.


We headed north on a red dirt highway that was cut from the jungle, the only road between Brazil and Venezuela. There were farms along the way, but just beyond them, and most often right up to the road, it was all thick jungle. Our bus made slow progress, as the road was rough and in places washed away. Bates and Tenya had left earlier, taking the car. Josie and San'aa and I took public transportation.
We did this to discourage suspicion. If we all travelled by car, or by bus, then the authorities could easily identify us as one party. This way it would be difficult to guess. Bates and Tenya would pass as tourists travelling separately from us. As Josie had no car, a bus was the most sensible. Air flight was too risky, as the airports would be watched. We caught the bus by the side of the road, where it stopped when Josie flagged it down, so we avoided the main bus terminal.
It was another bright morning with high clouds dotting the horizon. Josie was dozing in the seat across the aisle from us. Mother and I sat together, watching the passing scenery as the bus rocked arhythmically in response to the uneven road. There were not many people aboard. We made many stops and slow progress.
I had been thinking about Father, and San'aa picked up on my thoughts.
"Your father is a very special man, Maya. But it is against his training to use force to escape. On our world, there is a belief that we should foresee all events and anticipate them with appropriate action. This is especially expected of Dreamers, which he is. So in the case of capture, surrender was his only true defense."
"Does that make him a true pacifist, then?" Then I thought about it some more. "And, Mother... You said 'our world.'"
"I guess you are right. I don't know anymore what world I'm from. But this one now seems alien to me. Funny, isn't it?"
"Are you going back, now that we found Tenya?"
"I haven't decided yet. Part of me wants to obey Seth. But part of me believes he already knows that I cannot. I don't believe he would be surprised to find I wanted to be here with you. Which would you want?"
"I want you to stay."
Then I went on to tell her of how I gave up my pistol to Tenya. Mother did not reprimand me. She only told me of how we see things on our world.
"I may think what you did was wrong. But there is no such thing as right and wrong. There is only the future and what manifests of our actions. If you felt it necessary to give up your weapon to protect Tenya, then that is the action you had taken. I don't know if it is right. It wouldn't have been for me. But it was obviously right for you. And now it is done. I cannot blame you."
"Did Father teach you these things, or Seth?"
"Actually, it was told to me by a temple priest in India. That was when the old Hindu priest told me about right and wrong. He said to me: 'There are no good or evil people, no right or wrong way. All are the children of God who are born here, and then who die. We all travel this way as souls doing the best we can. The judgement is never ours, but of God. And if there is any punishment, in this life or the next, it should never be at our hand, for then we would be doing the work of God. And that is impossible.'"
"He was a wise old priest, wasn't he?"
"It seems that he was. His teachings are very old, as old as Earth's antiquity. And it is not so different from what we teach on Ka'ananda. Except that this applies only to when a person does an act that affects only himself, or herself. When it affects another, then everything changes."
"But that's not how they see it here, is it?"
"No. On Earth, for most people, it is different. Here, the government dictates what people may or may not do, whether it affects another person or not. Even many of Earth's religious beliefs endorse this. To disobey the rules gets people in trouble, and then they are punished."
"But why is it different here?"
"Because it is a matter of control. If the governments did not make these rules, even rules for people who did nothing to affect another, then their power would erode."
"But they have democracies here. Doesn't that change everything?"
"In theory, it would. Except the democracies are mostly to endorse what the government demands, so in the end, it is the people who allow themselves to become enslaved by its power. They endorse their own oppression. But they don't know this."
"So the priest told you there is another way."
I think it was Paul who told the priest, though I don't know this for sure, reminding him of his ancient teachings. You see, we were here once long ago, and what we had taught in that distant antiquity had not all been forgotten. He suggested to the priest the old teachings, and he remembered."
"Then Father is a very special man, a gentle man."
"We are all very special people, princess. That is what this world had forgotten."
"Then we cannot let him stay here. We must get him back, or he will be punished."
"I know."
We rode in silence to the steady roar of the engine, the road undulating through the jungle before us, rocking us to sleep. The hours passed by, interrupted only by stops at remote villages where people got off to buy a drink, or food, or find a place to relieve themselves. We did the same. At one of these stops, when it was very dark, I almost stepped on a sleeping pig, who noisily reminded me of her presence. The trip lasted through the night, and dawn greeted us with the same rocking motion to which we had become accustomed. At one river, all got off, and the bus rolled onto a small barge. Then all climbed aboard also, and it took us to the other side, where the road continued. By then, the bus had become quite full. It smelled of cigarette smoke and sweat. Soon we arrived in the remote city of Boa Vista, though there was no beautiful view to greet us at the bus terminal. It had recently been a prosperous mining town. Now the city looked dusty and drab. But we had gotten away from the watchful eyes at Manaus. We checked into a hotel across the street. It was a low building, only one story, and Josie told us it was reasonably priced. It was clean, it smelled of soap, and had vacant rooms. Also, I was happy the hotel's small restaurant had good merengatas. We would spend the night until the next bus for the Brazilian border. Tenya and Bates were nowhere around.
That night, another couple checked in. They were American tourists carrying heavy back packs, and they were going our way. The man was older, thin and appeared nervous, always lighting a cigar. The woman a few years younger, looked sturdy in a handsome way, yet soft and feminine. She was more at ease. Her strong face had familiar Indian features with large brown eyes. That night, while we all sat at the small tables in the restaurant, she pulled out her guitar and began singing. They were beautiful songs, folk songs from her native land, which had a mellow sadness to them. She said she was from Texas. Over delicious merengatas and cervejas, we listened to her strong and rich voice carry over the dark streets. Other people came and gathered to listen. Josie took an immediate liking to her and her music. They soon hit up a lively conversation. She found him attractive. The older man did not seem to mind, as his mind was occupied elsewhere. He had a far away look in his eyes. I wondered if he was a priest. I could tell from their conversation they were friends but not lovers. He called her Queenie.



Chapter 17: Fate.

The next day was as uneventful as the last. Again we boarded a large metal vehicle on wheels and rejoined the same dirt highway that took us north. It lurched and rattled while speeding down the road that at times, after a particularly strong shudder, I thought it would loosen all its bolts and be reduced to a heap of scrap metal in the middle of the highway. But it held, so we made progress, a kilometer at a time.
The bus reminded me, somewhat, of machines I had seen on Durian'an. There, where they still used the wheel also, though their advanced technology did not need to, they were very fond of their vehicles. I suspected it was more out of tradition or some strange nostalgia for the past, much as we still use sail boats on Ka'ananda. I thought of the Durians as a quaint world of mechanics, as they enjoyed so much to work on their machines. They lived in large metal cities, not unlike those of the Ebh'ans, which were sparse, grey and devoid of decor. But their vehicles were tight and smooth, and beautiful. Ours merely rattled on as if bent on its own destruction.
In truth, I was getting tired of this mode of travel. Josie always found a way to make himself comfortable, and even sleep. San'aa stared out the window, her mind wandering over the events that had brought her here. She was glad to be on Earth, but she had also been spoiled by our world and yearned to return to its clean and pleasing lines. She realized she had changed too much to come back here forever. To her, it looked haphazard and drab. Still, she missed the East African desert of her home. I also wanted to go home, to my own world, to my pet lion, Karu'an, my dog Lix, and to Moon, my pet bhok. I also missed Seth. But most of all, I wanted to rescue my father. He was out there in this interminable jungle, and I wanted him safely aboard Ship. The American couple joined up with a young German and Swiss man, who were also travelling north to Venezuela. They were on their way to Caracas, and this was the cheapest mode of transport. All had struck up a conversation in English or French, and seemed not to mind the passing of time. But this was their world. My mind set to wandering.
About mid way to the border, I got to thinking of something Paul had said to me. It was a time we were in the desert on Ka'ananda, watching the sun rise. He was fond of coming down off the cliff of his home before first light and sit silently in meditation amongst the trees as our star crested the horizon. The mornings were always cool, and our body suits, which we usually wore for such occasions, would turn from dark green to light blue as the day warmed. There was always a loud chorus of birds, just then, that died down as the sun rose higher into the sky. One of our little moons would set as the other rose, and then disappear into the greenish blue sky. It was then that Paul had told me:
"There is a greater scheme of things, greater than the mind can understand. It is called the Dream. That is what is behind bringing Earth into the Living Worlds. It is not of their choosing, nor of ours, but it will happen, as it is part of how the Universe passes on consciousness to its living worlds. What happens after that? No one is in a mind position to know. We are the script writers of our own destiny, and only the players in the destiny of others, no more. The rest is up to how the reality unfolds in response to our thoughts and actions, our dreams. There is nothing that is 'meant to be' about it, nor is it right or wrong. It just 'is'. Does that make sense to you, loved one?"
I do not know why this suddenly popped into my head, maybe it was what mother and I talked about the day before, but it rose like a bubble that would not burst, and I kept looking at it, hearing it in my mind. I wondered if this is not what Tenya and San'aa and I were doing right now. We were players and script writers, but I could not figure in whose play. Was it mine? Was what was happening because of my reality? Or was it San'aa's because this was her world? Or was it Tenya's because she had failed to avert Paul's arrest? Perhaps it was Paul's, the product of some past life that was replaying itself for us now. Or Josie's and Bates'. Or was the universe so complex that is was all of these, or maybe none. Maybe it was a totally new play that somehow led up to Earth's acceptance into the consciousness of the Unity. After all, that was to be this planet's next great drama, and we were only players in it. The script writers, then, must be all the minds and souls of this world. I could not figure it out.
Then Josie looked over my way. He had just reached into his bag for some bananas, and offered me one. We both peeled the fruit and began eating it.
"Why the furrowed brow, Maya? You look as if you're deep in thought."
"I was thinking about how I got here, now, in this bus travelling on this road."
"That's a deep thought. Have you found an answer?"
"Well, how did we all get here? I mean you and I, mother, Tenya, Bates, we are all part of some scheme of things, aren't we? But why did it become like it is?"
"I don't know. Fate, I guess. It was fate that brought me to you at the river, and fate that brought Bates down from North America at this time. Somehow, it is fate that made us do what we are doing now, I guess."
"Do you believe in fate?"
"I don't know what else to believe in. In science, we believe that nothing is true until it is proven to be so. Is that not what you believe?"
"I guess that is true, in and of itself, but it doesn't explain enough. There must be a bigger picture, one that goes farther than the randomness of fate."
"That's what we call God. But not all believe in God anymore. So the randomness of what happens is just that, random. I like to call it Fate. But I can't prove it, so I just believe in it."
"Do you think some things are just meant to be?"
"I suppose it's possible. But there is no way for me to know that. I guess I believe that events happen in a random way, that's all."
"Then what part do we play in that?"
"We're spectators, since all things are already predetermined to happen in some way that is beyond our control."
"But what of freedom of choice?"
"Even that may be random, and what we imagine to be choice is no more than a random response to circumstances we happen to find ourselves in."
"Then there is no good, or evil..."
"The ones we call evil, are merely those whose choices we disapprove of, and the good we like. Sometimes, I think it is only that. In the end, it is all part of that randomness we call the universal reality. How can we know we make the right choice, after all?"
"Then why have faith in fate? If it is only random..."
"Because we have to believe in something, or God. How do you believe on your world?"
"We believe in the freedom of choice, unless it affects another. Then we believe in the freedom to not force another against their will. So there is agreement, or disagreement. And when there is disagreement, then we believe it is only right to not force it further."
"Of course. That would be abusive."
"But it is more than that. To force another, to coerce, destroys the universal order. That's what we believe. Freedom of choice is how we see the cosmic reality reduced to its simplest in terms of being who we are."
"But in a random universe, there is no basis for that."
"I know. But now I understand Earth better. Not believing in a greater scheme of things allows your government to dictate to all the people what is right or wrong."
"Don't you believe that? If not the government, then who? Who would show us right from wrong? The church? They've been shown to be only a superstition."
"On our world, there is no right or wrong." Remembering Paul's words, I then added: "There only 'is'."
"Ah. I think I see what you mean, I guess. But I still see it all as fate, or luck. We can't really influence the way things turn out."
"I guess we sort of think so too. But we call it the Dream. It is what is unknowable. But with the help of the Light, we make it work for us. You see, we believe that in our Dreams, we also influence reality."
As Josie and I pondered the imponderable, time passed. Just before we arrived at the border, the bus driver, a happy young man dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, who had wrestled the beast over these unpredictable roads, then turned into a small village off the main highway. When we got there, the people of the village, who all seemed to lounge around their thatched houses, came over to greet him. It seemed they knew him.
An older man, solidly built, then brought over several large bunches of green bananas, which he muscled into the back of the bus. There were few passengers, so plenty of seats were empty. Then the driver brought up a bag of oranges and gave a couple to each passenger. Some of the passengers got off to stretch their legs, I was one of them, and we walked about the small village eating our oranges. The people of the village continued their lounging about as if we were not there, paying little attention to us. Then the burly man brought aboard a green jungle parrot, which kept trying to escape from a cloth sack. We all went back into the bus, after washing our sticky hands on the wet leaves of the jungle around us. It must have just rained. Back on the bus, the man released his bird, and it went flying about the bus, screeching, much to the amusement of the passengers. As we resumed our journey, the bird settled down on the luggage rack over my head. Before long, it did what all animals have to do, sometime, and let a big glob of dropping fall on my head. This brought even more amusement from the passengers who were quick to tell me this was very good luck. I laughed and mother wiped it off. The bird looked down at me, pleased of itself, it seemed. Having relieved itself, it now began preening. Josie looked at me with a bemused smile, as if to say, 'see, it was random'. I guess it was my fate.



Chapter 18: At the Border.


The bus shuddered its way to the border where it came to a grinding halt at the police check point. We were still on the Brazilian side and crested a hill where the dense jungle suddenly disappeared. It seemed as if we had entered a new land. The police had us disembark and reviewed our passports. They looked heavily armed with machine guns, and they looked all business. They did not seem congenial in the least. The native people stood very quiet. Tiny flies bit us on our exposed skin, then it began to itch. Under the roof overhang where our passports were examined and names entered in a large book, Tenya and Bates came out of the police station to greet us. They had been waiting for us.
"It's okay officer," Bates volunteered, "they are with us."
"We must check their passports," the officer in charge humorlessly replied. "It is very important."
I looked at Tenya, and she smiled back at me. She had been having a good time, it seemed. Her hair had that carefree wind blown look, her cheeks red, and she spoke in short breathless sentences. Bates had been a fun travel companion and they had travelled well. The night before, they stayed at a friend's house on the outskirts of Boa Vista. Bates knew people here, having lived here once. Mother and Josie stood in line, Bates talking to his friend. I stood by San'aa. Josie was looking for his passport.
"Bates has a plan," Tenya came over to tell us eagerly. "I think it could work, if we have some help."
"What kind of help will we need?"
"He knows people up at El Dorado. He thinks they can help us."
After we checked out, all got back on the bus without ceremony and Bates and Tenya followed us in their car. We passed a large stretch of land which looked desolate, as there were no homes here, and very few trees. It looked like it had been prepared for a battle field. The hills and red roofs of Santa Elena waited in the distance, we went through another check point, and then pulled into the bus terminal. We looked around nervously, but the two men who had spotted us at Manaus were no where to be seen. We got off in the late afternoon.
We still had to check in at the border police station on the hill, where our passports were stamped once more time. But not having gotten visas in advance, we were given only a temporary transit visa. We assured them we were there only passing through, only for a short stay. Josie was exempt from this travel restriction, however. Then we made our way to a nearby restaurant and ordered. The German and Swiss man were on their way that night to Ciudad Guayana. Queenie and her older friend were also at the restaurant.
"I have an old family friend," Bates was saying, "who really knows the territory. He knows a lot of people there too, so he might have heard of what happened to Paul." We listened, agreeing that it was a good idea. "Then I think we can work out a course of action to get him out. He may know some of the guards there, at that prison across the Cuyuni. I think they call it 'Papillion', or something like that."
"Why do you think Paul is at Papillion?" Josie inquired.
"Well, we don't know. But it is a good guess. After all, if he's arrested, he's probably imprisoned. And if not there? Where?"
"What's your friend like?" Mother asked.
"Jim? Old Jim Gilbert? Ah, he's a character. Wait 'till you meet him. That's assuming he's still here. I know him from the States, from Arizona,. He's part Apache. Quite a guy. A real rascal."
"We'll have to work fast," Tenya added. "San'aa and Maya can only stay here for a limited time."
"And you?" Bates looked at Tenya. "I hope you can stay longer."
"Only if the Dreamers allow. You see, we're on a different time scale than you." She looked a little sullen at the thought.
"Once we know where my father is, what do we do then?"
"That will depend on circumstances. But no matter what, we'll get him out."
Josie looked at me, and I returned his look. We were thinking the same thing. Fate. Food came.
The town of Santa Elena turned out to be a pleasant little border town. It was a large village with a few streets. But there were police everywhere carrying weapons, mostly machine guns. Their dun colored uniforms looked like yellow soil, and they went about unsmiling. They almost looked liked they wanted something off hand to happen so they could shoot at it. But the inhabitants were pleasant and minded their own business. They spoke a language that seemed to mix Portuguese and Spanish, or Indian. It was hard to understand their speech. A number of gold and diamond trading shops were scattered through town, so we must have been near the jungle mines. The food was tasty, and all in the restaurant seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was glad this leg of the bus trip was over. After we had eaten, Queenie and the older man came over.
"Are you going on to Bolivar?" he asked.
"No. Just to El Dorado. And you?" Bates answered.
"I'm taking Queenie to Caracas, where she will fly home. But we're stopping at my place in Bolivar first. I keep a place there at an old hotel on the Orinoco. It's a grand old place with a veranda overlooking the river."
"But you're American, right? What's your name?"
"My name is George. I'm a retired monk."
"A monk? I thought you were a miner."
"Well, I've been lots of things. A monk in Maine. A homeless person in Austin. That's where I first met Queenie." She nodded in agreement. "And a music agent in L.A. That's where I made a very small fortune. Now I'm just an eccentric living here. It's cheap."
Queenie could tell we had gotten curious about them, so she volunteered:
"I got stuck in Brazil, with no money. Trying to sing my way across the country didn't pan out for me. So George came down to get me. He's always been like a father to me."
"So now you're going back?"
"To Austin. I'm going to give it another try up there. So what are you doing here?" She was looking at Josie. "Are you travelling all together?"
"We're looking for a friend who may have gotten stuck in El Dorado. He might have gotten into some sort of trouble there," Josie answered.
"That wouldn't be hard," answered George. "That is one rough, tough mining town. Look at a man the wrong way and you have a knife in your gut, or guns come out."
"Like in the old West, in the movies?" I said, excitedly.
"Like that," George smiled at me. "But they're more desperate here. With gold and diamonds and money, there comes drink and women and fighting. They're a rough lot. But don't worry. If you stay out of their way, they'll stay out of yours. I know people there, and they're okay."
"Will you be passing through there?" mother asked.
"Didn't really plan to, but I could. It's on the way, just a short detour from the main road. Why? You think you may need my help?"
"I think we could use it, if you're offering. Know anyone at the prison?"
"Sure. I know Sergio. He's the commandante there. A gruff fellow, a real brute, but likeable. I've been to his home, a posh place."
"Then we could use your help, George, if you wouldn't mind taking a slight detour," added Bates. "We'll need to know if our friend Paul is at the prison."
George looked at Queenie.
"It's okay with me. I'm in no hurry. Maybe I could sing for the men in the prison."
"What a great idea!" Bates added enthusiastically. "That's a way for us to get in!"
"They may not let all of you get in. But maybe we could find out something, God willing," George added.
"Bless you, George, you're a capital fellow. Let's all meet in El Dorado. How you travelling there?"
George smiled at Bates' blessing. It should have been the other way around, he thought.
"We were going to fly the next leg. There are small bush planes here for hire at the airport. Should I book one for you too?"
"Well, Tenya and I are driving. But if you could book a plane and pilot for San'aa and her daughter, Maya, and for Josie. We could all meet in town. We could meet at Hotel Antonio." Josie looked a little nervous. "Great! Then it's all arranged. We'll meet there tomorrow. How many hours would it be by car?"
"About four hours, if you're fast. Eight if you take your time. The road is paved here, so it's easy going, except for all the police check points. And watch out for some of the mining towns along the way. Don't hang around there. They're rough."
We all parted for the evening. Josie and Tenya and Queenie, after checking into the hotel near the bus station, took a stroll down the street to the center of town, for a few drinks. Mother and I joined them later. They were easy to find in the small streets, people lounging about lazily in the warm night. We heard singing coming from one of the taverns. It was Queenie's voice, so we went in. George and Bates had driven to the airport to arrange for the flight to El Dorado. Queenie had borrowed a guitar and was entertaining the patrons. She had a hat out in front of her.
"I think your luck has changed. Look at all the money in your hat," I said happily, when she stopped singing and took a moment to take a long draught from a cold beer.
"Yeah, they like me. I can't sing in their language, much, but they don't mind me singing country western in English. I guess music is the international language." She was obviously happy with herself. Then she picked up her guitar again and strummed it quietly, for a while, and then broke into another of her songs, her rich voice once more transfixing all in the place. They stopped talking to listen. She had them in her power once again.
"She's very good, mother. Why isn't she more successful?"
"I don't know, love. Maybe she has had some bad times."
"Well, she should be famous. Look how people love her singing." Queenie stopped and took another long drink from her nearly empty glass, and the bar tender brought her another. Some of the men, grinning sheepishly came over to her to talk, and drop a few paper bills into her hat. "I think George is going to be her agent. Then she'll be a great success."
"Probably. But he's a strange bird. People's paths cross and then go apart. It's hard to know how they will end up. But I hope you're right."
I thought of what the people aboard the Star-ship would think if she came up to sing for them. They would love her. Then they would turn on the green crystal orbs and lend their minds and souls, amplifying her songs even more. It would be wonderful. But for now they seemed so far away, so impossibly alien to this world. When Queenie finished, she looked radiant, like she had been empowered by her songs, and came over to our table. Josie and she struck up a lively conversation. I just looked around, drinking my merengata. It was pineapple, and very good. The other guests had now forgotten the songs, and were again busy talking to each other, or drinking in silence alone. At one point, the police came in and looked around suspiciously. The place fell suddenly quiet, the walls themselves, grimy that they were in the dim and smoke filled light, seemed to freeze as if in malevolent anticipation. But nothing happened, and they left. Bates and George came in later to tell us all was arranged. We had flights for the next morning. We would be in El Dorado before noon.
Late into the night, we left the tavern still buzzing with voices. Small dogs followed us back to the hotel, but they kept their distance, barking occasionally at the moon rising over the mountains. Mangy cats scurried out of their way. The street music had stopped and the village was now strangely quiet. All had retired behind their doors. Lights still shone in some homes, but they were going out one by one. When we got back to the hotel, after good nights all around, Josie and Queenie retreated to his room. Maybe now they would more than talk. Bates had found some dark eyed, buxom local girl to keep him company, and they went back into town. And George was lost in his thoughts on the patio, smoking a cigar and looking up at the stars. Tenya joined him, and they sat talking of deep things, it seemed. Mother and I turned in for the night.



Chapter 19: El Dorado.

Mother and I made ready the next morning for our flight. Josie came to our room, and knocked quietly.
"May I come in?"
"Of course, Josie. Ready to go?"
"Well. That's why I wanted to see you." He looked at us with trouble eyes. "Would you mind very much if Tenya and I traded places?"
"Is anything wrong? It's okay with me, if Tenya thinks it alright."
"Yes. She's already agreed to it." Then he looked uncomfortable a moment more. "You see... I'm afraid of flying."
"Oh? Well, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Lot's of people don't like to fly. After all, it is unnatural for us earth bound bipeds to take to the skies."
"That's how I feel. I know it's irrational. I know physics, and it seems foolish that I still don't trust aerodynamics. Lots of people fly all the time. I've flown to Sao Paolo and back. But I didn't like it. And this is such a small plane..."
"No need to explain. So you'll travel with Bates?"
"Yes. We're leaving in a few minutes. You'll arrive before we do."
"Well, George could show us to the hotel. We'll be alright. And Josie, thanks for everything you've done so far."
He smiled weakly, and nodded. George and Queenie were already hailing a taxi for us all to take to the airport. Tenya joined us then. Bates looked like he had a wild night and still suffering from its aftereffects. His hat looked rumpled, and he was nursing a large cup of coffee. Josie volunteered to drive.
"Josie is a fine man, isn't he?" Queenie said as we sat in the cab. "I like those dark green eyes of his. He reminds me of a wolf."
"Is being a wolf good?"
"In his eyes it is. There is something so mysterious about him. Like he is so intelligent, and yet wild. And he is wild."
We smiled at each other, as I could read her thoughts. I knew what she meant. Mother and Tenya looked at us sitting in the front, both squeezed onto a small seat. I was glad to be up close to Queenie. She had a soft touch, yet strong. It felt good to be pressed against her. Mother was thin next to her, though she also felt good when she was up against me. We often slept together like that, me curled up against her. Queenie put her arm around me. George got in and we were off.
The small planes were very small. They could hold four easily, and five if someone sat in the tiny seat at the rear. The pilot was a dashing young man, wearing dark sun glasses. He greeted us amiably with an air of self confidence. Tenya sat next to him and mother and I behind. The small plane roared to life and taxied onto the only runway past the small shack that served as the terminal. When all the instruments checked, he accelerated down the small runway and we were airborne in no time. Behind us George and Queenie's plane was taking its position.
The land fell away and we were over jungle once again. Small villages passed beneath, the kind we stayed in at Josie's. Then more vast stretches of trees covered the ground except for some lonely dirt road, or hidden waterfalls. The place below looked untamed, but I did see places where the jungle had been cleared. From our flying altitude, I could see vast tracts where trees had been cut, many still laying about, like a giant razor had passed over the land. Smoke in the distance could be seen rising from settlements, or what I imagines were logging camps. The jungle was dense and beautiful, except for where it had been ravaged. Then, it looked hurt and sad, like it would take a long time to heal. The little plane roared on oblivious of the damage below, steadily climbing to its cruising altitude into a blue sky with high, white clouds. It was beautiful to look around from this tiny craft.
When we cleared the jungle, the land opened into a vast savanna. The land fell away into great green valleys bordered by great cliffs and mountains. From these water fell in long white streaming cascades, leaving small rainbows in their wake. The sun played on the distant mesas, and it was beautiful to look at. Then we began our descent. We could see a winding river on the edge of a small town. A large square building with a tall tower loomed on one side, and a small landing strip was just beyond it, smaller than the one we left. We were positioning for approach. As we were coming in, large black clouds had gathered on the northern horizon. We landed ahead of the storm amid gusts of wind. As we taxied to a stop, the skies lit up with lightening from the black clouds overhead. When we finally came to a stop, the dirt and grass runway around us became a mass of water bouncing up like millions of small fluid balls. We ran to the shed by the side of the runway in pouring rain.
George's plane was behind us, and it had to land in the furious storm. It careened heavily as they came in for the desperate shelter of the ground. But as their craft came to a stop, after a precarious touchdown, the rain passed, its ominous clouds again moving with noisy and lumbering wetness to the south of us.
"Phew! That was a hell of a storm, George yelled over the rolling thunder. I've never seen a storm come down on us so fast."
"It may have been a mistake," I said aside to mother.
She looked at me with understanding.
"Someone thought we were being pursued and timed it just right."
"You should have used your communication device to let them know we were in no danger."
"It hadn't occurred to me until now, that those clouds were not of natural origin. I guess, you're right. But it all turned out alright."
Then she pressed the 'all clear' command into her communicator, to let the Ship know it should only be on standby when called upon. No return signal answered.
"But, Mother. What if it wasn't the Ship?"
"If not them, who?"
"I don't know."
We made our way to the town of El Dorado, our taxi taking us to the river's edge. There we clambered into a launch that took us across. We arrived at a landing near the center. The dark prison loomed across the river from us, only its tall tower visible over the trees. We found the Hotel Antonio and checked in.
This was a dismal place, old grime clinging to the walls. It must not have been cleaned for a long time. The sink and toilet did not work, but the sheepishly cheerful and solicitous hotel staff thoughtfully gave us a large bucket of water to wash in. It smelled. The whole place smelled of its rancid odor. Outside, looking down on the square from the balcony, El Dorado lived up to George's description. The place had a furtive look to it, like the people here were endowed with a mistrustful, nervous energy, as if they were both the hunted and the hunters. The streets were dusty, and the awnings of the eating places that skirted the village square had that low look to them, as if they too were drawn as curtains against whatever secrets lurked here. Though the sun was out again, shining brightly on the square, the place had a feeling of darkness, like the shadow of the prison reached across the Cuyuni and hounded it through the day.
"Mother, do you feel father's presence here?"
Mother had been thinking the same thing, as had Tenya.
"No, love, we do not. We were just talking about that."
"Then we may have come to the wrong place. Paul is not here."
"Let us not give up hope. We may learn something from here yet."
But every sour turn has its bright moments. When darkness prevails and all seems hopeless, a small light appears, and suddenly there is hope. This light came in the form of a small boy.
Josie and Bates still had not arrived. It was now just past noon, hot and humid, and George and Queenie had retired for a siesta after lunch. Mother was doing the same, and Tenya kept an eye on me from the balcony. I played in the street and watched the other children in the plaza. They took me for a tourist, and so were shy. But one little boy came up to me.
When he got closer, I took him for an orphan or beggar boy. His nose was running, and his clothing thin and torn. He was barefoot, and I would have guessed he were only about eight or nine years old. But his eyes seemed older, and he had a ready smile, with a large space between his two front teeth.
"My name is Carlos. What's yours?"
He put out his little hand to shake mine. It was clean, though his feet were dirty. I held out my hand, no bigger than his.
"My name is Maya. Thank you for coming to talk to me."
He smiled and looked back at the other children.
"They're afraid of you, a stranger. But they will learn to like you soon enough, if they see you playing with me."
We sat on the edge of the sidewalk, just looking out into the square. A dog came over to sniff us and Carlos put out his hand, and then petted it. It looked mangy and hungry, but accepted the pet with gratitude. Then Carlos asked me a surprising question.
"Did you ever see a space ship?"
He had an earnest look, and I could tell from his mind he was struggling with something inside.
"You mean like a rocket?" I tried not to appear to eager.
"No, not a rocket. The kind used by monsters from other worlds."
He must have seen some science fiction movie, so I played along.
"You mean like flying saucers?"
"Yeah. Kind of like that. But not exactly. The one I saw..." Then he looked at me to see if I was about to laugh at him, but he did not sense it, so he continued. "The one I saw was more like a crescent moon, but thicker, like a large..." He stopped again, to gage me. "Like a banana."
"Did any of the other children see it?"
"I don't know. If I ask them, they laugh at me, saying I have been too long in the sun. That I was hallucinating."
"Did you see any monsters?"
"No. It is so vague, that I can barely remember it, like I saw a man, I think. But he wasn't a monster. He looked like us."
My mind raced to remember Tenya's account of what had happened. Maybe this was the little boy who ran to town and called the police. He had seen Paul!
"What did you do, when you saw this, err... banana." I suppressed a giggle. But, in truth, this was dead serious. Here was worthy information about my father.
"I remember running, frightened. Then I called out in the square that a monster had landed. The police immediately went to where I said I saw the space ship."
"How did you know it was a space ship?"
"Because of all the lights flashing, and the smoke that rose from under it. It was no airplane or helicopter. So it had to be a space ship."
The smoke was actually ionized air that converted into a steam-like gas, but which dissipated quickly into the atmosphere. Tenya kept an eye on me, but I could feel her mind, inquiring. I let her know it was okay.
"And what happened then?"
"I can't remember. Everything became dull and confusing, like someone hit me on the head."
"You hit on the head much?"
"Only when my father was alive. He hit me a lot. But he died three years ago, in a mine accident. Then my mother died, from fever."
"So you are an orphan?"
"I have been all this time. Guess how old I am!"
The conversation had dissolved into his unconscious once more, the space ship forgotten, and reality again taken over when it had left off when Tenya had turned on the mind energy rays. There was a lapse between when he saw the ship, and when the police took Paul. He seemed to remember no more than that. I guessed his age wrong.
"I'd say you're about nine."
"You guessed wrong. I'm eleven, but I can't read yet."
"Why not? Don't you have schools here?"
"I can't go. I have no money, except what friends give me for food. And I have to work, like at this hotel, just to stay alive. But look, I have money!"
He pulled out a small bundle of bills, which I guessed was really worth very little, but then he began counting them carefully, to let me know he knew his numbers. When he had finished, it was very little, just enough to buy a couple of merengatas.
"Can I buy you a merengata?" I asked.
"Yes! I'd love one. You got money?" He looked surprised.
"A little."
Bold little Carlos and I went across the square to buy our drinks. The other children played away from us. Tenya knew where I went. As we sat there, drawing on our straws, Carlos ordered strawberry, a rare treat, a jeep drove up into the square in a cloud of dust. It was Bates.
"Hi, little miss!" He waved to me, when he saw me and Carlos sitting outside the restaurant. There were passengers in the rear of the open jeep. Josie sat in front, but the two men with them I did not recognize. The jeep looked well travelled and dusty. We finished our drinks and went back to the hotel. It was already late in the afternoon.
"Where did you get the jeep?" I asked, when we reached them.
"It's my friend's. Maya, meet Gilbert."
"Call me Jungle Jim, Maya." Gilbert extended his hand. It was rough, like it had know much hard work. But he was a small, thin man. "And this is Powell, my trusty friend from the mines."
Powell also gave me his hand. It was large, like he could take my whole arm with it. He was a big African, with full lips and a broad smile. He looked very strong. Jim, by contrast, looked little and wiry. He must have been very old, but it did not show on him, except some of his teeth were missing. He too had a quick smile on his small dark face. His hair was jet black, with no trace of grey. He looked like he would last forever.
Josie then finished carrying the bundles they had brought with them. They were heavy, and he picked them up with a groan and placed them down on the lobby floor with an audible thump.
"We got supplies for our expedition," he said, nodding towards the pile. "Where's your mother?"
"She upstairs."
"And Queenie?"
"Siesta."
"Oh? I'll go and wake her."
He bounded up the stairs, just as San'aa and Tenya were coming down.
The air was very hot and still, like it was getting ready for a storm, which seems to happen here about now. More people were milling about the square, siesta being over. Josie exchanged a brief pleasantry and went up to look for Queenie. Bates came up to mother and introduced everyone all around. Carlos and Jim and Powell already knew each other, like old friends. Powell gave him some money, and told him to go and buy himself dinner. Carlos left happily, then returned to ask if I wanted to join him, but serious business was at hand, so I told him I would join him later. The rest of us then went to a chicken barbecue place on the square, and took over a table to discuss our plans.
Aside to mother and Tenya, Bates said, quietly:
"I bought a couple of machine guns from one of the mining camps. They're black market, AK47's, so I must keep them concealed."
Josie added:
"And we have lots of ammo. We'll be ready for anything." He winked, conspiratorially.
"Do you think we'll need to use them?" Tenya asked.
"I hope not. But if we have to, we will." Then to San'aa: "Do you have any weapons, from where you're from?"
"We don't like to use them. But we will use weapons, under some circumstances. Why do you ask?"
"Just inventory. I'd like to know our arsenal, that's all."
There was something in the way mother answered Bates that told me she was not comfortable with his idea of doing battle. I remained quiet.
We all ate chicken that night, which seems to be a great favorite of the local people. Though we never eat meat on my world, except for very special, ancient ceremonies, and then only in tiny amounts, I kept telling myself that I was a guest, and that it was a great indiscretion to refuse food offered by the hosts. This was Earth, and people here ate meat. The chicken was delicious.
When it got dark, all the lights went out. It seems this happens often, so candles and oil lamps were brought out, and we sat in the outside dining areas by the flickering lights of these weak flames. Carlos rejoined us.
"So here's what were going to do," Bates was telling us. "Tomorrow, George and Queenie are going to see Sergio at the prison. They will go in to see what they can find out. If Paul is there, we'll know. Then we could find a way to attack. George seems to know the prison well, so he could give us a layout. Jim here has dynamite, and Powell is an expert at it. He was a demolition man in Vietnam." Powell then told us he was American, but his father came here from the States many years ago, and Powell followed later. Then Jim interjected: "Yeah! We'll blow that gate to Kingdom come!" He flashed us a broken toothy smile. His dark eyes twinkled in the darkness. Bates resumed: "I'll have George and his friend out of the way, so I'll fly them to Bolivar before we begin. They could too easily get caught for questioning. He's already agreed to all this. Is everyone in agreement on this?"
They had been talking in a low voice, so no one else could hear us. But as we were the only patron there, the only danger was from the owner. His face glowed from behind the grill where he was making more chicken, which sizzled loudly over the red coals. The place was dark outside, except for the small lights across the square. Then the power came back on, flickered a moment, and then stayed on. This was followed by a loud roar of thunder preceded by bright lightening, and the skies opened. The light did not last, and the power vanished once more. We were in the dark again, listening to the loud rain on the awnings. The only light visible came dimly from across the river in the jungle where the prison was. All nodded in agreement. Carlos had remained quiet, then he spoke.
"Can I go with you?"
Bates looked momentarily surprised, since he had not noticed Carlos join us earlier. He beamed at him.
"Of course, little boy. Could be dangerous, but Jim and Powell will look after you. Okay with you guys?"
It was okay, so the party for the attack had been formed. We had two machine guns, amo, two pistols, dynamite, and whatever else Jim and Powell brought with them. Josie then left to find Queenie, and our little party of co-conspirators broke up for the evening. But I knew Paul was not here. Still, it was better to let them take their course of action, as it was part of what needed to be done. I had to go on fate. The rain stopped.
At the tavern below the hotel there were men drinking, and women serving them, or sitting on their knee, laughing and drinking. The place looked crowded. Mother told me to get back inside, as it was no place for a small girl. I went to the balcony. Then a loud brawl broke out, and the men spilled out into the square. Bottles flew and fists went flying, but then one of the man was knocked out cold. Queenie stepped out from the tavern, and came over and put her hand on the man who had knocked the other unconscious. It was Josie. The other man was lying on the wet ground, slowly coming to. The fight broke up and all went back into the tavern for more drinks. There seemed to be no lingering hard feelings, and when the man who got knocked down regained his legs, he also went back for a drink. Women came and went from the bar with a man under their arm, and then went upstairs to the hotel. Later, in about a half hour, they went back to the bar. The night had turned cool after the storm.
It seemed the tavern held two kinds of men, those who were large and burly, rough sorts, and those who were thin and wiry, though still tough. But in all their bravado, they looked rather pathetic. They were of all races, miners I guessed, and this kind of entertainment was normal for them. So the fight was no more than another night in El Dorado. At least, no one was killed. There were no police to be seen. Little Carlos was still sitting outside.








Chapter 20: Carlos.


I got up early while mother still slept. Carlos was already outside, brooming the sidewalk clean. When he had finished, he came over with a glass of milk for me.
"Can you teach me to read?" His brown eyes had a serious inquiry in them.
"I think I can. Get the magazine upstairs, on the chair by the balcony, and I'll show you."
Presently he returned, eager to start. It was a travel magazine in both Spanish and English. It must have been left by some tourist passing through here, though so far I had not seen any. I pointed to a page of print, next to lovely pictures of cities around the world, a world he had never seen.
"See, all those letters? Well, some of them show up more often than others. Like the 'a' and 'e', 'u' and 'j', or 'o'. See how many there are? Then the 'm' and 'n' and 's'. These are the more common letters, and you must learn them first, and how they sound." He looked at the page, making the connection between the sounds of the vowels and consonants."
"But there are so many. How can I learn them all?"
"It's easy. I'll teach you then way I learned." Then looking very seriously in his eyes, I added: "But you must never tell anyone how you learned. If anybody asks, tell them it was magic. Okay?"
He agreed, still studying the printed pages. He had seen the pictures many times, and now he could find out about them. Then I continued:
"Now, let me put my hands over your eyes, close them." He did as I bid. "Now, visualize the letters as they will show in your head, and remember the sounds that go with them."
I began my lesson, starting first with the most frequent letters, and then ending with those seldom used, like 'z' and 'x' and 'y'. His young mind absorbed these very quickly. When I was satisfied that he had the sounds connected with the letters, I began reading to him the captions under the pictures. This, I figured, would be retained most easily. Words like 'Paris' and 'London' were coming from his lips, as he looked at the words beneath the photos. Then 'Lisbon' and 'New York'. He had a difficult time with 'Majorca', but did well with 'Sao Paolo'. A new light dawned on Carlos. Next he wanted me to write for him his name, so he could read it. I did and he could see the connections instantly.
"See? It's no great mystery. Now with practice, you will learn to recognize all letters and sounds, and these are connected in words and sentences, much as we speak them. With a little more practice, you will see these words and know them, without having to read each letter. But, this is very important." He looked earnestly at me, as if I had saved him from some terrible fate. "You must never forget what I just told you."
Carlos nodded, and immediately went back to his magazine. In the span of less than an hour, he was saying to himself words, sometimes mispronounced, but then he would recognize them and correct himself. He beamed up at me. He could read, and now a whole new world opened before him. Even if he could never go to those cities, he could read about them, and even start learning another language.
By noon, when the sun was at its zenith and hot, George and Queenie came back across the river. They had visited with Sergio and had returned.
"Maya, where's Bates? I've got news for him."
I got Bates, and he came downstairs.
"What did you find out, George?"
"Paul was there a few days, then he was transferred."
"Where to? Where is he how?"
I went up to get mother. She came down too.
"You have news? Where's Paul?"
"While Queenie entertained the men, with song that is, I spent a couple of hours with Sergio. Conversation came around to the new prisoner arrivals. He keeps quite a fortress there. No chance of breaking in, nor breaking out. That place is like a miniature military camp. But then he went on to talking of the most unusual prisoner they ever had. He said the circumstances of his arrest were so weird, that he wouldn't even go into it. But the man was described as mild, very intelligent, and instantly liked by all the prisoners. Sergio couldn't quite figure him out, like he had a mental block against the man, so he decided to get rid of him, before he started spreading all this good will to all the others. I guess this man frightened him, somehow."
"The brute against the saint, syndrome..." mused Bates.
"Yeah, something like that," answered George. "But this Sergio was really nervous that this new arrival would start a revolt, or something. He did say someone tried to escape shortly after, but was shot when he got to the river."
"I know about that. The locals had been talking about it. Machine gunned down just as he entered the water. Quite a mess of the body."
"That's how I heard it. But it wasn't Paul. I think Paul was entrusted to a work party in the jungle. From what I could gather, the government wanted some land cleared for a new settlement, not far from here, maybe fifty kilometers, maybe sixty. Something to the... err... alto Cuyuni."
"That's south-west of here."
"They've got a mining or logging road going into the jungle, but the Indians had been hostile there, with occasional skirmishes, so they use the prisoners to clear the jungle. Vast tracts of it. You can't miss the fires."
"We saw fires from the air," I volunteered. "In that direction."
"Probably it, or some other camp. But I know he had some Russian fellow as a trustee, got involved in some revolutionary scheme and locked up. I think his name is Yaroslaw, a big bear of a man, from Sergio's description."
"He told you quite a lot. How do you know you can trust him?"
George had a twinkle in his eye as he answered.
"Because the cognac I brought as a gift is very good, and he drank a lot of it. But I've got to make myself scarce. When they figure it out, they may want to hold me here, and I'd rather be in Caracas."
"Won't they come after you there?"
"In this country? They're lucky if they could get their mail delivered, never mind finding someone and bring him back. Here, it's all a matter of luck, bad luck, or money. I'd like to stay on the side of luck, with a little backing from money. So there you have all I could figure. Good luck to you, hope you find him. Queenie and I are going to make tracks."
Queenie went up to say goodbye to Josie. They stayed together as long as they could, talking in a low voice. I could see them sitting together on the balcony. All knew what it was about, so they let them have their privacy. It was a parting, and they stood up and held each other for a long time.
"I'll write to you," Josie said finally, as they were ready to go downstairs.
"I'm a lousy writer, but I'll do too."
"But you write beautiful songs. Just send me tapes, of your new songs, if you wish."
They embraced again, their hands not wanting to let go of each other. Then Queenie came downstairs, tears in her eyes. I could see Josie's eyes also misted, and serious. Carlos came over to him, and took him by the hand. They both came down together, to say goodbye.
The car and driver Bates arranged for our informant friends, it was part of the deal, was waiting at the square. They piled into the small vehicle and sped off down the dusty street. Josie watched them leave, then he and Carlos slowly walked over to the river, where he threw something in. I think it was some sort of native magic, and in spite of his civilized ways, he still believe in this. That was how he cheated fate.
But the fate we now had to face was finding Paul. Bates got into action, as he knew we had no time to lose, and it has already been more than a week since we landed here. We only had two and half more weeks to go, so we had to act quickly. The news was communicated to Jim and Powell, and to Tenya. Carlos reminded us he was going too. Bates got the supplies into his jeep. Within the hour, after we brought along some food and water, we were ready to leave for Las Claritas, and then onto a jungle road to find the camp. But with all the supplies and with eight people, we needed to get another jeep. At long last, Jim drove up with one, which he borrowed from a friend, for a fee, and we were ready.
By then, it was late afternoon, and the habitual storms were about to brew. Our little convoy drove away, Tenya and mother and I in the back of Bates' jeep, Josie riding shotgun. Jim and Powell and Carlos in the other. The tops were off, and as we left town, a cold rain soaked us to the skin. But we could not stop now. We had to find the jungle work party.
The reason for our haste was that the party may be moved to another location, and we could not risk that, as there was no way to trace it further. Josie had the machine gun on his lap, covered, as he was ready to shoot on Bates' instructions, if anyone got in our way. There was also the question of the hostile natives, but I could not imagine Josie shooting at them, unless we were attacked. I asked him about that, hoping to get his mind off the unhappiness I felt from him.
"Josie," I yelled over the noisy machine. "Why are the Indians and the miners fighting?"
"The miners and loggers are on Indian land. Then someone shoots somebody, and somebody shoots back. That's how it starts," he yelled back.
"Can't someone stop it? Like have a meeting and talk it over?"
"Too much bad blood, now. Too many people were killed to talk, so the war goes on until one side or the other gives up."
"Where would the Indians go if they gave up?"
"Deeper into the jungle, until next time. Then it would start again. They know that, so they are fighting back. As long as people want fancy furniture and furs, the loggers will be there and the fighting must go on."
"Why won't the miners leave them alone?"
"Gold! And diamonds! Too much temptation. Money!."
"So they're killing Indians for money? Can't they just pay the Indians off, and earn the right to work their land?"
"They could, but they don't. And for what they do to the land, I don't think the Indians could be paid enough. The miners poison their rivers, and the loggers destroy their hunting grounds. It's bad all around."
So now I knew that we were driving to a killing ground, not just people, but also of jungle trees and wild life. All that just to retrieve some trinkets from the ground, or to cut down trees so some people somewhere in the world could have nice furniture. If those people knew at what cost they got that furniture, maybe they would no longer buy it. But that was unlikely, even if they knew. It is like the ivory of Africa, or the animal fur from anywhere on the planet. Greed wanted it, and greed made it happen. So the destruction goes on.
"And what of the burning of the jungle?" I asked, "like where you live?"
"That too is to satisfy foreign interests. Unfortunately, the government is behind it. You see," he yelled over the motor, "the local people cut down a small piece of the jungle, so they could farm and eat, but they leave after a time and that grows back. It's the large cut, what they call clear cut, that destroys the jungle. That would take hundreds of years to grow back, if ever."
We bounced along the road past small villages and mining camps. They all seemed to look alike, low shanties, taverns, prostitutes looking at passing men, dirty streets and mangy dogs. These makeshift towns grew out of seediness, and now they were totally impregnated with it. No flowers, no lovely homes, no children playing, nothing clean. For gold and diamonds, they had created themselves a low existence, and now people were dying for it, because they were the ones who had lived in the beauty that had been theirs. I decided there was no way to ever make war look beautiful. Even without the killing, this is what it looked like. I turned around to look at Carlos, and he waived happily to me. So this was the world he came from. I hoped with all my heart he could find some way to change it someday.
We turned into a jungle road, badly rutted and pitted with shallow pools. Some were not so shallow, and we often risked getting ourselves stuck in the deep muck. But we seemed to make do, so the two jeeps carried on. Then, when Carlos looked back, at one point, he realized we were being followed, and he yelled it to us in the front.
"Military jeeps behind us!" he yelled. I could hear Jim gunning the engine, trying to make it go faster. Bates did the same. But we had been found out.


Chapter 21: River Crossing.

Bates yelled over the racing engine, now in four wheel drive.
"Jim! The dynamite!"
I could hear from the rear:
"Aye, aye, sir! Cocktails on the way!"
I could see Powell reach into the rear of the jeep where Carlos sat. Then he climbed back there, hanging onto the overhead bars. Carlos was helping him do something. Then he yelled to us:
"Tell us when!"
Bates was driving like a mad man, keeping the lead over the jeeps behind us. He did not want them to close on us. It was part of his strategy to keep them as far back as possible. Then we came to a swampy area that seemed impregnable with jungle growth, thick and soft. He yelled back:
"Now! Let 'em have it now!"
It was no good to use the machine guns, though Josie now had his out and visible. It could have hit Jim's jeep behind us. And the pursuers had not fired at us, either. We were at a turn in the road, and that was when Bates yelled his command. Tenya and San'aa watched the activity behind us, holding onto the overhead bars to keep from being bounced out of their seats. They had fear, as did we all. Then Powell, with a powerful arm, heaved a bundle of dynamite sticks at the vehicles pursuing us. The sticks landed far behind Jim's jeep, just in front of the oncoming military jeeps, and they swerved, but too late. The deafening blast sounded like it shook all the birds from the trees, which now flew around us frantically. A huge, smoky crater opened in the mucky road and the first jeep drove into it with a loud crash. I could not tell if the passengers were hurt, but the jeep seemed badly damaged. It could not go on. The other jeeps behind were likewise cut off, as they could not pass around the crater, nor the disabled vehicle on this narrow jungle road. The swamp offered them no out, so they were stuck. Then we heard the volleys from a machine gun , but it only hit the trees, cutting down leaves. None of us were struck. Jim let out a loud yell, "Yeeh Hahh!" Bates yelled back:
"Anyone hurt?"
"We're all okay!" came the much hoped for reply. We drove on at break neck speed. Soon the military jeeps were left far behind.
We got to more open country, and picked up speed on a better road. It had been recently graded. Then we were paralleling the river, which we figured was the river Sergio referred to. We were again on our own. But we were racing against time. It would soon be dark, so we could not stop. And we did not want the pursuing party to catch up with us.
We came to a point in the road where it forked into three directions. There was no way to know which was the right way. So we stopped to consider. Jim came up to us.
"What do we do now? Got any better directions?"
"I don't know, Jim. It doesn't look good. All three roads seem equally travelled, so I'll be damned if I know which is the right one."
"We can't afford to explore them too long," I said. They'll be on us in time.
"I know, little one. But Jungle Jim knows this country. Jim, any guesses?"
"The one on the right goes across the river. There's a shallow crossing here, but it can be tricky. The one on the left goes back to the road, further south. The one in the middle... I don't know. There may be a village ahead, but I'm not sure."
"Anybody else have any ideas?" Bates asked.
I was focussing my mind as best I could. Being this close, I should have been able to feel him. San'aa and Tenya were doing the same, but both looked blank. I started having a terrible feeling that we may have been misled, and that there was no camp here. But I could smell smoke, and a vision of Paul flashed in my mind. It was an odd vision, him looking pale and weak, like he had not eaten for a long time. I mentally flashed to him "Where are you?" but he did not reply. The vision left me no direction. Still, he was near. So I volunteered my opinion.
"I vote we go across the river."
"Me too," seconded Jim.
Josie also felt it a right choice.
"Why would they cut a road across the river unless something important was there? I think the logging camp is that way," he said, pointing to the right.
"I don't think it's straight," added Carlos, "because my father's camp was there. I've been there not so long ago, and there was no logging."
"Didn't Sergio tell George it was south-west?" Tenya and San'aa said almost in unison. "Then it's that way," they pointed towards the river.
"Powell, any idea?"
"I'd go across the river."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the smoke is coming from that direction. The wind is from there."
"Then, let's go!"
We all climbed back in. It was a most democratic process that led us to this decision, but somehow it seemed to work. Before long, we could see smoke rising from the distance. We were obviously coming to a camp of some sort. The jungle had been cleared here, and there was more smoke in the air. Now we had to be furtive in how we approached it. It was most likely heavily guarded.
We had wasted too much time at the fork in the road, and now made up for it by going over the dirt road at great speed. It was painful to hold on, but if one did not, they risked being catapulted out of the jeep. Josie looked grim as he held his machine gun. Mother felt into her shirt for the pistol she had concealed there. Tenya touched the safety on her weapon. The jungle thickened around us again, and the afternoon light had begun to wane. Dusk comes and goes quickly in the tropics, as the sun just falls beyond the horizon, suddenly pitching all around into night. We had to be quick, or we would have to camp before attempting to go further. We could not go back.
We arrived at the edge of a large clearing. But it was not a natural clearing, as there were trees and stumps as far as the eye could see. This was one of the razor cut forests we had seen from the air. It was evidence of massive devastation, as I had never seen on any other world before. Usually by this time the frogs came out to start their courting songs. But there were no frogs here. The earth had been stripped of its protective layers and the life that had been here moved or died out. We were at a logging camp, but did not know if this was the right one. Smoke hugged the air like a mean blanket of bluish haze, making breathing painful.
"I think this is it, guys." said Jim, who had brought his jeep alongside, "let's hide the vehicles in that brush, there."
Powell and Josie jumped out, machetes in hand, and quickly cleared for a place to hide the jeeps. Then they covered them over with the brush and branches they had cut. They were passably camouflaged. Then Bates and Jim hoisted their machine guns, and Powell brought along the ammo boxes. Jim carried a box of dynamite, helped by Carlos, who had the fuses. I snuck ahead to get a better look. There were men, and fires, at the far end of the charred and stubbled land. But the cut was uneven, and there was protection on the left side of the field left by uncut jungle and mounds of tortured logs laying in a massive pile. I pointed it out to Bates, who nodded in agreement. We all made for that pile, and stopped behind it. By now, we had covered more than two hundred meters from where we left the jeeps, muscles straining from carrying the heavy weapons. Mother and Tenya kept up the rear, along with Jim and Carlos. Even though Jim was old, he was quick and strong. He showed no signs of tiring, though his breathing was heavy. He smoked. Carlos moved like a goat, jumping over logs and tree stumps. The underbrush had been burned away, so travel was easy over the uneven land. There were no brambles or tall grass to slow us. Now we were within ear shot of the men at the camp.
There at a distance was the roar of chain saws mixed with the whining noise of a tractor. Men cursed and labored in the smoke filled atmosphere, but it was hard to see them. We were only aware of shapes moving about in the clearing. But this was good, because they could not see us. Bates and Josie were up front now, looking for evidence of guards. They spotted them, lounging on the jungle's edge. They seemed to be in no mood to work hard. It had been a long day, and now that the day was waning, they were tired and ready for a change of shift. They sat on tree stumps with their rifles on their knees. Expecting no surprise from the forest, they were facing the men at work. There must have been a dozen guards, one for each of the prisoners. The tractor was pulling another massive log, what had once been no doubt a large and noble tree, towards the pile where we hid. It came closer.
Bates and Josie, like a couple of jungle cats, ran up to when it got close and jumped on its runner boards. They pointed their machine guns at the driver.
"Keep driving, you son of a bitch!" hissed Josie.
The surprised driver, not a prisoner, did not know what to think. His mind flashed another revolution in progress, and he quickly protested that he was on their side.
"We'll see about that," Bates hissed at him.
The tractor motor drowned all noise, but I could hear him in my head. Carlos, behind me, was very excited by what was happening. Everyone else crouched low, to not be seen. The light was fading, and it looked like the men were making ready to quit for the day. A tall, older man seemed to be their commander The Russian, I thought. I asked Tenya. She nodded in agreement. She could pick him out. Tenya had spent nearly a year in the former Soviet Union, on her Planet-walk, so she knew.
Now the tractor came to a stop, the driver was turned over to Powell and Jim, who efficiently gagged him and tied him to a log. The driver's eyes spoke to not leave him there. Jim asked him: "What's the matter, you afraid of the dark?" His eyes spoke back: "Ants!" he pleaded. But Jim did not notice. I came over and sprayed him with a repellent. It would hold him awhile, though the man in his terror was sure I was poisoning him.
Then Bates began driving the tractor back to the camp. Josie was hanging onto the side. To me, they looked like two boys playing at jungle war games, like when they were boys. Now they were boys no longer, and this was not a game. It was for real. I could feel Paul's presence clearly. We were at the right camp. The men had gathered around their tall leader.
The guards, still suspecting nothing, slowly got up to walk over to their charges. No doubt, they were expecting to be picked up by the lories that would come to get them at dark. They turned our way briefly to see if one was coming, but there was no sign of it, so they walked over to the tall man. Paul and some of the others were sitting down on logs, or tree stumps, tired. Their muscles were weary after a hard day, and they needed water, and food. It was another miserable day in this miserable existence, where they were treated no better than expendable machines to labor, go back to their holding cells, and then, maybe be someday released. If not, they would die like this, worked to death. With dusk came mosquitoes, and they began slapping themselves. I sprayed Carlos and Jim. Powell was too far ahead to reach. But he did not seem to be bothered by their bites. Then the tractor came within thirty meters of the men.
"Freeze! You there!" Bates pointed at the guards, "Drop your weapons!"
Josie came around from hiding and pointed his machine gun at them. They were too slow, not lowering their rifles like they should, so he fired a rapid volley over their heads. The weapons came instantly to the ground. They were not brave men, and immediately stepped back from their weapons, to show they were in earnest. The other men, who were now as surprised as the guards, huddled in the impending darkness. They did not know what to think. Then the tallest one of them came forward, slowly. We came up from the rear.
"Who are you?" he asked, incredulous.
"Any of you murderers?" Josie asked.
They all shook their heads to the negative.
"Any of you men know the other to be a murderer?" Bates asked.
Again, they all looked at each other, blank faces said they did not.
"Then tie up the guards to the nearest trees! Not you!" Bates pointed to the tall man. "Where's the man they call Paul?"
My father stepped up from the rest. The tall man fell in behind him. The others were wasting no time in tying up the guards, who were pleading not to leave them in the jungle. They said the jaguars, or the Indians, would get them. They did not mention the ants, but they were there too.
"Paul?" Bates asked. "You want to see your family again?"
Father looked up at him, his mind now racing over to mine, and San'aa's. Suddenly, he knew, and it was not a fancy or a dream. We were here.
"Father! " I ran up to him from my hiding place. I flew into his arms, and his arms closed about me, holding me. "I am so glad you're alive."
"I'm not dying, princess, not for the whole world. How did you find me?"
Then mother came over, and put her arms around us. There were tears in her eyes.
"You're a hard man to reach. We've crossed a Galaxy for you." We just stayed in each other's arms.
Bates and Josie watched us, smiles on their faces. They had accomplished what they had set out to do. Jim and Powell were dragging their equipment towards us, Carlos in tow, with suggestions that we should get out of here. The tall man looked at Tenya. He was an older man, greying, but with piercing pale blue eyes set in a still handsome face. On his feet he wore ragged sandals, and his pants looked like they were too small for him. But he had a smile on his face. Tenya smiled at him.
"Tovarich Yaroslaw."
"You know me?" he asked, puzzled.
"Aren't you Major Yaroslaw Dobrinin?"
"Yes. But how could you? I defected more than eight years ago."
"Because I read all about you in the Moscow papers. You did a very brave thing, to renounce your country and its Communist system. I remember reading that your father was killed by Stalin."
"Many fathers were killed, and grandfathers, and sons, millions of them. And women. It was not hard to renounce such a world."
"But how did you get here? In prison?"
"I offered my help to this country's military. All went well for awhile, and they saw me as a valuable consultant. Then I ran afoul one of their politicos. So here I am. It was my fate, I guess, to always be in prison."
"Then you are free once more, my comrade. And you know, Russia is not longer the same. You can go home, if you wish."
"I wish very much."
Darkness had fallen, and we could see only by the light of the fires, and the few kerosene lamps of the camp. The prison guards had all been tied up, now them being prisoners. Other former prisoners had scampered off into the bush. They did not want to know what was happening. Each would make his escape as best he could. Jim and Powell and Josie were making ready for our retreat, Carlos helping, and Tenya came over to Paul. They exchanged words, and both were glad the other was all right. She quickly updated him on what had happened, as did mother and I. Paul was very happy we were all fine, after hearing of our picaresque adventure, and the gravity hole. He then gave us a quick tally of what had happened to him. Carlos was right. The man he saw from the space ship was not a monster. Now, beaming, he saw him again. And the man was my father.
We were ready to retreat from the infernal fires of this jungle, when we heard buzzing from overhead. Bright lights flashed down on us, pinning us helpless and blind in their blare. They were helicopters and they came armed, as machine gun rounds were fired from above in warning. They landed in the field a short way from us.
"Oh, shit!"
It was Bates.



Chapter 22: Ambush.

"Put down your weapons," the amplified voice called from above, in a calm manner, in English.
Bates scrambled into action, ordering us to find cover, under trees, anything. We did as he said. Carlos and I crouched beneath a large log, along with San'aa and Paul. Jim was with Josie, and Powell and Tenya scattered to the other sides of the lit area. Yaroslaw followed them too. We looked like surreal silhouettes in the bright lights.
"What do you want?" Bates called back to them. After a momentary silence, the voice called down.
"Nice job, Major!"
"You know your orders!"
It was Bates who answered. I understood everything instantly.
The helicopters landed in a rush of wind, scattering the smoldering smoke. Amidst the bright lights, it looked like a scene from a hellish inferno. When the engines slowed to an idle, two men jumped out. The other helicopter settled not far from the first one. The men were dressed in business suits, but the light was too bright to make out their features. When they got closer, and it was possible to see them better, I realized I did not know them. Something did not make sense. They were not the men we saw at Manaus.
"Major Jack Bates, I presume?"
"That's right."
"Nice job. We came to collect your captives. Washington will be very pleased with your results. There may be in line for a promotion, General."
Paul and San'aa were standing now, trying to understand what was happening. The rest of us stayed down.
"What's happening here, Bates? They're American, aren't they? Are you a Major, Bates?"
Mother was also quickly grasping the situation. Bates looked suddenly weak and sheepish.
"I'm not who you think I am, ma'am. I am in the employ of the US government. These men are CIA."
"Then who were the men at Manaus?"
"They were with CAUS." Bates was looking down at his feet. Josie looked up sharply at him. He had trusted his friend, and now he knew he had been deceived. That whole episode at the restaurant to get us out was a charade scripted by Bates. Now he understood, and he was bitter.
Now I understood that those poor men who were embarrassed, the ones looking down at their soup, were too stunned to respond in time. They had almost made contact with us, as they so hoped they would, and the opportunity was snatched from them, by the government, once again. And I had gotten to really like Bates. Now he was no more than a rogue. Those who understood now saw him this way too. Major Bates had suddenly plummeted in our esteem.
"You tricked us!" Mother was indignant. Tenya stayed quiet. "And you tricked your friend, Josie! Unless he's in on it."
"He wasn't. Look, I'm sorry, okay? What else can I say. What can I do? They're the Government. I had a job to do."
"You could get us out of here, that's what. And tell these two gentlemen to go back to their machines and fly back home."
"You're flying with us, miss," the voice from one of the two men said with calm confidence. "We've been waiting for you for some time."
"How do you know of me?" Mother's Earth temper was now rising.
"We spotted your disabled craft on radar. So we knew you were around here, somewhere. That's why we sent in Bates. He's the best there is. He knows this territory and he tracked you down."
"Did you find the craft?"
"No. Not yet. But you will bring us to it. We are very interested in what makes your machines tick."
"But you already have our machines," mother lied. They only had the machines of the Ebh'ans. "So you must know how they work. Aren't you duplicating them for your defense system?"
"Highly classified, ma'am. Sorry. With all due respect, can't discuss military matters."
"Go on, Ralph! Tell them what you've got. You've struggled with those old wrecks for decades, and still can't make them work!"
"That's a breach of security, Bates!"
"That's right. Hasn't MJ12 been working on that? And M16 at the RAF? And it failed. Go on, tell them!"
The other man was about to draw his weapon, when Ralph raised his hand to stop him.
"I guess there's no harm telling you, here in this jungle. After all, you're more advanced then we are, and... With all respect, ma'am, we want your cooperation."
He looked at Paul, as if he recognized him. Father knew who this was. He had been interrogated by him in Paris, years ago. It was Captain Pierce. He was not really CIA, so I knew even Bates was being deceived. Ralph Pierce continued:
"Our secret installations have been working on your ships ever since the first ones were downed in New Mexico after the War. We had some of our best minds working on them, people like Oppenheimer, Fermi, Von Neumann. They all worked for us to unlock the secret of your power source. Now, that work is being carried on by CSS. But we want to do this for peaceful purposes only. You see, we have no real enemy, anymore, now that the Russians are our friends, so we need this information for pure science."
Josie seemed swayed by this argument. Jim was interpreting for him, as Josie's English was very limited. The tension of our first encounter was now more relaxed, but all were still on guard. Paul was not swayed.
"If it is for pure science," father countered, "then why is it done in such secrecy?"
The man looked at Paul, as if he knew that voice. Then recognition slowly dawned on him.
"Paul? Are we having the pleasure of meeting again? Paris!"
"I'm afraid so. It was fated. So we meet again." He nodded at him with a curt bow. "But when will you tell your people we're here?" Father spoke to Pierce like to an old friend, or adversary. They have had a discussion like this once before. It had become an old game for them, to bait each other. "Don't you think in a great democracy like the United States, which holds the torch of freedom for all the world, the people should know?"
"We can't do that yet." Pierce took the bait right away. "They would panic. Remember what happened when Orson Wells broadcast a Halloween prank, the War of the Worlds?"
"But that was ages ago. Surely, with television and instant communications, the same would not happen. The American public is much more sophisticated now. I know. I've seen your world."
"We still can't do it. Your existence must remain secret, for security reasons. You see, the technical know-how must appear to be indigenous. We must control it. Otherwise, we would lose face and the public would turn against us. The secret had gone on too long. We can't turn back now."
"You are telling the truth, Pierce. It is like in war, when the killing starts, there is no end, until finally one side surrenders." I was reminded of what Josie and I talked about earlier, why the miners and Indians can't stop fighting. "And if you tell the American people now, then you would be admitting defeat. That means all those associated with the cover up would be held liable, and the government would fall. Is that it?"
"Regrettably, that is it. You see our predicament now."
"It is like the Indian wars, that you had in your country, and that they're having here now. Neither side can give up."
"We're not talking about some dumb savage Indians here, man!" I could hear Jim translating this to Josie. "We're talking about the future of civilization as we know it!" Pierce was getting agitated. "And, damn it man, we need you. Our scientists have exhausted every venue to get to what you know, and we can't do it. We don't understand what makes your damn power source tick. And nuclear is too dirty. We all know that, at all levels. But we're stuck with it, for now. So we need a break."
"No good, Pierce," father answered. "We can't give you what you want under terms of secrecy. We also want your world to come out of its dark ages and join us in the Light. But we can't risk it as long as you have a strangle hold on your people. For now, our respective worlds are terribly unequal. Our technological and social developments are far ahead of yours, and so they'll remain as long as you hold back the truth. The only way to bridge the gap is to reveal this truth that you are not the most powerful force of civilization in the universe. We know there are many who want to know us. They know we are real. But until you reveal your knowledge of us, until you break your secrecy, we cannot come. So we are waiting, and observing, and," father added with a note of irony, "get shot down at times. So we can't go. Your power is predicated not on trust, but on fear and force, and secrecy. That is never acceptable to the Living worlds. So we must wait until things change on Earth. Believe me, we too desperately wish for you to join us."
"You think us villains, then?" Pierce countered, his mouth petulant.
"We are not to judge you. Your government has done many commendable things, along with many errors. We do not know which will endure as great, and which will be discarded in history. It will be for your historians to put it all in a meaningful light."
"Then there will be a contact?"
"There will, I'm sure. But things need to change first."
"But they will change, because you're coming with us," Pierce added with a forced grin. "Now get in."
That was the end of the pleasantries, and all knew it. The situation now looked hopeless, as we were outnumbered and outgunned. They had all the power, now. Father continued to hold Pierce with his eyes. They still had an old score to settle. San'aa held to his side, unflinching. I looked at Carlos, who looked with a question in his eyes, since he could not understand English. He stayed close to me, like a frightened little brother.
"Bates, bring these men and women into the chopper."
Bates hesitated, then resisted the order.
"No good, Pierce. I'm not doing it."
"That's an order, soldier!" But Bates shook his head. "Not under your jurisdiction."
Then father spoke:
"One more thing, Pierce. What did you do with my blood?" Pierce had father's blood drawn at the interrogation. Now he was teasing him about it. "Match up with yours?"
"It is O negative, my friend. A universal donor. Wouldn't you know it, a bloody universal donor. You're like us! Well now, Paul, you will give us another gift."
Realizing Bates would not cooperate, it was a court martial offense, Pierce gave some unseen command and armed soldiers began jumping out of the helicopter. That's when I felt Jim's arm vault over a log, a streaming light arcing towards the moving men, and a loud flash and explosion ripped through the air. It was a good hit, and the chopper dissolved into a ball of fire. The two men were knocked down by the blast. Father and mother fell also. The other copter opened fire and hit Jim, who flew backwards, before he had a chance to duck. Then Josie stood up and opened fire on it with full force. The bullets caught the chopper's fuel tank and it went up in a huge ball of fire. All the men aboard perished. Though they died in their line of duty, it made me instantly sad. The two men now got up, tattered but unhurt it seemed, as did Paul and San'aa, and all ran from the two infernos, which now lighted up the whole jungle and sky. Bates came over to them, but San'aa and Tenya both had drawn their pistols. The three froze.
"Where you going, Bates?" San'aa asked, calmly. Now the power was in her hands.
"I'm going to tie them up. Let the jaguars instruct them on the facts of life. It's a jungle, out there." He grinned.
"Then are you with us, or against us?" Tenya wanted to know, her brow puzzled. She felt especially hurt by Bates' double identity. She had truly trusted him.
"I'm for you. Jim is hurt!"
"Why?" I asked. Looking over at Jim, I said: "He'll be alright." I had already seen San'aa press a code into her communications device.
"Because I can't let you down. And..." He looked over to Josie, who was standing over the bloodied body of Jim, "...I can't let my friends down. I have spent enough time with you all to know that I was working for the wrong side. That's all." He looked genuinely remorseful. Then he ran over to Jim. "Oh, Jim, my old buddy. Old Jungle Jim. Don't die! I'm sorry, buddy. I'm truly sorry."
Jim was not dead. He looked up, though he was badly hurt, and gave Bates an uneven, feeble smile.
"I'm seventy eight years old. But I ain't dead yet. Maybe this is a good place to die... in the jungle... It's okay, little Jack. You've always been a wrong way guy." Then he looked up again. "God damned G men. Fuck you! We ain't no dumb savage Indians. Fuck you! I'm part Apache!"
Jim lay back, breathing heavily. Josie applied his shirt to the largest wound, and tried to tourniquet his badly damaged leg and arm. There was a large loss of blood. Powell was helping him. It looked like he might die after all. I did not want him to, so went over to mother.
"Tell the Ship to hurry. They can save him!"
"I already did, love. They're on their way. I just got an answer."
The fire from the blown choppers was dying down, but still lit up the clearing well enough to see the edge of the forest. Yaroslaw and Tenya rejoined us now, as did Carlos. We all huddled over Jim, Josie doing for him what he could. He got another shirt and covered him. The two government men were nearby, looking sullen. They both crouched on the ground, their formerly neat suits torn to shreds. But in their alert state, they were the first ones to see them.
"What's moving over there?" Pierce asked.
We all looked over to where he was pointing. But it was no children's prank. They were serious. Something moved in the bush, just beyond the light cast by the fire. As we waited, they came out, one by one. It was amazing to see how they moved, their graceful bodies, though short, moved with the fluid economy of panthers. Long spears and bows were in their hands. They were naked and had paint on their faces. They were the jungle's true natives.
We watched as they approached closer. There must have been thirty of them. And they were armed for war. Then the leader, an older man, came closer and looked at Yaroslaw, who towered majestically next to them. He gave a quizzical smile, and the came over to pat him on his chest. We all stayed still.
"Yarrow?" the Indian asked, almost childlike. Yaroslaw peered at him in the darkness, and then said hesitantly:
"Ku'Kuya?" He now also began to smile. "My old friend Ku'Kuya?" Then he turned to us: "I know these Indians! I have lived among them for two years! I was their doctor." Then to Ku'Kuya, in his native language: "Where have you been, old friend, my brother?"
They exchanged news of what each was up to, and where they had been, and how they suffered. Yaroslaw, it seems, had defended these people in the past against land claims, part of why he ended up on the wrong side of the law. And now they were joined together again under these strange circumstances. The tall Russian turned to us:
"They say they saw the fire, and heard the explosions. They were hoping it was the loggers who got killed. But they were very surprised to see us here, so came in for a closer look. They are no threat to us."
As Yaroslaw was being patted by the Indians, and he patting them in turn, a form of welcome, a bright light began forming in the sky. It was the Ship sending down help for Jim. We all looked up but, much to our amazement, it was not our shuttle craft. Rather, the sky was full. There must have been fifty ships, all shimmering with their iridescent light as they slowly made their way down. They sounded from high up like a distant, odd heartbeat. We all looked up, jaws open. Most had never seen anything like it. Josie stood, as if turned to stone, unbelieving. It was of nothing he had ever learned in physics. The Indians were pointing up and talking softly. They somehow associated Yaroslaw with the magic they were witnessing. Even the guards gave mute testimony from where they were bound, looking up with disbelief and horror. Carlos came over and took me by the hand. He had seen one ship, but these were different. These were true saucers, round and large, and so many! It was impossible to fit them all into the clearing, large that it was. Jim looked up feebly, trying to raise himself, but gave up with a groan. He is tough. Tenya and San'aa and Paul and I knew whose ships they were. But Bates gaped at them, only able to say under his breath: "Holy Jesus!" I looked at him, and smiled, sending him a thought: "Now you believe us? Did you take the right side, after all?" He smiled at me, nervously. His dashing figure was left humble by the immensity of the moment. Powell also stared in silence. Only Pierce found his voice to speak: "Help... Help us... Please!" Bates no longer held his gun on him. There was no need. The government men were too awed by this great spectacle to act in malice. Their greatest prize was coming down from the sky, and they were rejected. They were no longer the power.
One of the ships separated from the rest and came down over the charred remains of the military helicopters. When it touched down, the lights dimmed, though it still lit up the clearing with its bluish light. It must have been nearly thirty meters across. An entry way opened, slowly. A figure stepped out.
It was one of the Ebh'ans.











Chapter 23: Uuuubh.

"We heard your distress signal," was voicelessly spoken to us. All could hear it, in their heads, even those who had no telepathic training. The Ebh'ans have no ability of speech as we know it. They are totally telepathic, though their thoughts sound as if spoken in a higher pitched human voice.
"We thank you for responding so promptly," father said in turn. "My name, on my world, is Pa'an. Here I am known as Paul."
"My name is Uuuubh. I am the proctor for this detachment."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Uuuubh." Uuuubh looked impassive, only his eyes spoke with the depth that is so common to Ebh'ans. Those eyes, so large and set in that long pointed face, almost insect like, have an intense depth to them. They feel as if they can look right into your soul, and touch you there. All present could feel this. At times this feeling can be so intense that it almost make you want to cry, or run away. They are very sentient beings, even if they look weird. "We have a man who is badly hurt, an Earth man. Can you help him?" Paul asked.
"We have the equipment necessary to make him whole. Let my crew bring him in. We are familiar with the people of his race."
Just then another four Ebh'ans stepped from the landed ship. They moved with an awkward gait, as if they were unused to gravity, but with surprising agility. All present watched them with varying degrees of fascination and horror. Carlos asked me, very quietly: "Are these monsters?" And I whispered back: "No. They are friends. They are just different from us. Creepy, huh?" He nodded. When I said this, Uuuubh's mind instantly focussed on me, so I quickly added: "But they are human just like us."
The four men, dressed in the usual silvery travel suits, went over to Jim and examined him. They held wands that when applied to him immediately put him in a suspended animation. His suffering was now stilled, and he lay quietly, staring ahead of him, but conscious. I knew the Ebh'ans have had much experience with humans on Earth, for which they were reprimanded, for having violated the Quarantine. But now their experience came in handy. Then they gently lifted Jim and carried him into the belly of the ship. None spoke, just watched with wonder and puzzlement as the four creature and Jim disappeared into the craft. So father deemed it necessary to explain.
"I want you all to meet Uuuubh. He is the commander of these ships, and he has come here to aid us in restoring the man who was wounded. They came at our request, as San'aa," Paul pointed to her, "sent up a distress signal meant for our Star-ship. But as these people were closest, they answered promptly. The men and women of these ships are called Ebh'ans. They are a very advanced human race, though they do not look like us, but they are highly developed sentient beings, and too are members of the Living Worlds." San'aa and Tenya and I already knew all this, but Paul was saying it to all equally. "I want you to feel welcome in their midst, as they are welcome in ours. Please do not fear them, as they mean us no harm. They are here to help."
A murmur arose from everyone present, including Piece and his accomplice. Powell came over to Uuuubh, as did Carlos and Bates. They did not know if they should shake hands, or what. But the Ebh'an answered their mutual question.
"I am welcomed, and am happy to meet you all. Though you have not spoken, I already know your thoughts, and what Paul says is true. We are different from you, but in many ways, we are the same. We come in peace, and friendship. We are here, though we are normally not allowed to come here. But because you called out a distress, we came. And yes, there are many of us, but we pose no threat. We will do you no harm."
Again a murmur rose, but now one of relief. All had had the same question, whether Jim was safe in their hands.
"Don't trust them!" Pierce spoke up, plaintively. "We've had experience with them, and they are not to be trusted."
Uuuubh looked over at Pierce. He shook his head from side to side, as if he were examining a specimen he could not understand, then spoke to us soundlessly again.
"This man is different from the others. Is he an official of the American government?" We nodded in agreement. "Then I think I understand to what he is referring. When we were here, years ago, we had made contact with scientific and military agents of this government. There was a contact, and then an agreement that we'd be allowed to study you, because we did not understand you. In exchange for this, we were to teach them our technology. But we did not share what we were not allowed to reveal, mainly our means of propulsion. They insisted that we do this, and when we further refused, they imprisoned some of our men and tortured them to get information. We resisted and, in the process, killed some of their military personnel. This happened in an area in northern New Mexico." I knew the Ebh'ans were very strong willed. "This led to a greater battle, where we were forced to withdraw. We made mistakes and we paid for them. Now we are no longer able to visit this beautiful world. We are sorry for what we did. We so desperately yearned to understand you," Uuuubh addressed this to Pierce, "but we failed."
"Why doesn't the world know about this?" I asked.
Some of the people present, especially Ku'Kuya, heard me, in their heads. He quickly translated to Yaroslaw. They now looked back at us to hear the answer.
"Because we were not allowed to let anyone know who we are. That was part of the agreement."
"And they cannot know still. Isn't that right, Pierce?" I asked him.
Pierce remained silent. His eyes were downcast, because the Ebh'ans speak directly to his soul, and there was no way for him to hide from this. He was exposed and he knew it. But he tried one more time.
"If you had given us what we wanted, then we could have announced it to the world. It is for us to decide what our people may know. Any other way was an interference with our internal affairs. You were operating under the cover of your secrecy, not just ours."
"And that of Quarantine. But none are to blame, Mr. Pierce," Uuuubh replied. "We are all guilty of error, and that is how the universe's reality had manifest on this world. So until that changes, we are all powerless before it."
"And what will make it change?" Bates now got his courage up to speak.
"It will change when the people of Earth ask for it to change."
"You mean ask their government?" Josie was now picking it up.
"Yes, of their governments. But also of themselves, and of each other. It has to come from the collective human soul. It was this that we were so hoping to understand, but our techniques were faulty and we failed."
"Do you know what their techniques were?" Pierce shrilled.
Father gave him a look, which said that he was giving himself away. Pierce abruptly stopped and withdrew. He was trapped by his own government's secrecy, and he could say no more. The truth had surface but briefly and once again had to remain buried. Otherwise, it would embarrass many, including the Ebh'ans, who had already expressed regret.
Ku'Kuya's people followed all this with great interest, though mostly they only got half of what was being said. Carlos looked at me with eyes that expressed wonder and concern. He could not grasp the significance of it all. Yaroslaw, through some mysterious means, seemed to understand it best of all. His government had also made contact with the Ebh'ans, and in his former high military position he had some knowledge of it. San'aa and Tenya remained silent. They understood the meaning of it all, but they felt there was nothing they could add. Only Pierce was fighting an internal battle with himself. He wanted to deliver to his government what was so fantastically visible before him, all of it, and yet he could not. And now, he was not even sure that he wanted to. All he had been trained to believe and do, was it really what he truly wanted in himself? He did not have an answer. He had begun to doubt. Maybe his government's way was not the best way. Maybe this secrecy was a big mistake.
We stood in the light of the overhead ships, they casting down a strange artificial daylight. The poor guards were forced to watch this exchange as if in some horrible dream they could not control, and powerless to escape. They remained muzzled, tied and gagged, and they feared for their lives. Not so much at the hands of the aliens, as at the hands of the Indians. Then the ship's belly opened again, and the four Ebh'ans came out of the ship. They stood on two flanks of the entry way, standing there at attention as if they were ceremonial guards. All waited. The darkness of the jungle was relieved only by the light of the overhead ships, as by now the fires had totally died down. Even the jungle cries were stilled, as if the wild life also looked on in wonder as to what was happening in this desolate clearing. They were as mystified as Earth humans, all too strange to comprehend. All life seemed to stand still.
Then a human form was visible in the entryway, standing there, indistinct by the glare from the lights within. It was a man's figure, erect and standing upright, as if looking out on us and stopping to pause before walking out. The man took two hesitant steps, then stepped out of the ship, as if unsure the ground would receive him, and walked into the light. He looked around at us and smiled, then spoke:
"What are you all staring at? A ghost? Well I ain't dead yet."
A great wave of relief came over all present, even Pierce. A miracle had happened, and the man who only moments ago was torn and nearly dead, was now standing before us whole, and smiling an impish grin. Then, realizing how tense the silence was around us, he added:
"Look! New teeth!" His grin grew wider, showing us his new teeth. "And they're mine."
Jim walked away from the ship past his honor guard and asked for a drink of water. Bates ran over to him with his water bottle, and held it to his lips.
"You okay, old buddy?"
"Sure, I'm okay. Don't I look okay? Hey, they didn't mess up my face, did they?"
"No!" Bates laughed, truly filled with delight, "And new teeth! You'll be a lady killer, yet, old buddy."
"Yeah. Pretty descent, eh? I think they grew me out of some soft stuff they put it into my wounds. Didn't feel a thing, and I was awake. Now look at me! I'm ten years younger!"
Carlos and Powell and Josie ran over to him, also examining him as if he were some piece of merchandise that warranted careful inspection. Carlos' eyes looked at me inquiring: Is this magic? And I smiled back at him to let him know that it was magic. But like learning to read, once you accepted it, it was real. When all had a chance to come over to Jim and congratulate him, even Pierce and his side man. Uuuubh was getting ready to return to his ship. But before he did, he turned and spoke to us:
"I should warn you there is a military party not far from here who will soon make it through the jungle to attack you." This he knew from the other members of his ship. "But they held back because of our presence. So you will need to take action to protect yourselves. Will you need our help?"
"Let us confer on this, if we may," Paul replied.
We huddled and considered this new piece of information. Jim was ready to fight the federales again, as was Josie. But father thought it best if they employed another tact. We discussed it briefly.
"Uuuubh, some of the men will stay here, and try to get back themselves. Powell and Jim will take Carlos with them in one jeep, Bates the other. They will escape by the other road that takes them back to the main highway. Yaroslaw will go back into the Jungle with Ku'Kuya and his party." I knew this was a difficult decision for the Russian, because it meant living in hiding in the jungle, until he had a chance to escape back to his country. But his decision was sealed by his concern for the guards. He knew that if he left, the Indians would massacre them, and he did not want this. So he elected to stay. "Josie and Tenya, my daughter Maya," Uuuubh gave me the equivalent of a bow, "San'aa and I will go with you, if we may, to rendezvous with the Ship. Then we can take Josie back to his village." Then Paul looked at Pierce and his man. "But we don't know what to do about them."
"May I suggest a solution," offered Uuuubh. "They should remain with the wreckage. They will be made to believe that they were the victims of a terrible accident, that both helicopters crashed, and that they were the sole survivors. By their appearance, they will look the part. The military men will find them and bring them back, and the remains of the others. They will have no memory of what happened here. We have the means to do this. If that is acceptable to them."
We all looked at Pierce. He nodded, sadly. It was the only way out, to not divulge the context of what happened here. Then he asked:
"What of the federales? Won't they remember what they saw?"
"They will also be deprogrammed of this memory," was the Ebh'an's reply. Then he referred to one of the others standing by the ship: "Aaaabh, can we do it?" The other Ebh'an answered to the affirmative. So this was to be the course of action. Pierce's secret was safe. We were not interfering with Earth's internal affairs after all.
"Then let us all make ready," Father ordered. "Jim, take Carlos and head for the jeep. Powell, take Josie's machine gun. I hope with all my heart that you will not need it. But if you do, you know how to use it. Bates, you head back with them, and when you get to El Dorado, standby. We will contact you again." Then to Ku'Kuya: "Take good care of your friend Yaroslaw. He will depend on you for safety until he is free to leave." The old chief smiled at Father, nodding ascent. Then to Pierce: "We always seem to leave each other like this. I hope that someday we could meet and talk in a normal way, like old friends, and laugh about it all. Go with my good wishes and blessings."
Pierce nodded sadly, then said, as if suddenly realizing something: "One more thing. How did your ships get past our radar? Don't the surveillance personnel know you're here? Where are the intercepts?"
Uuuubh answered:
"Yes. They know we are here. But we discovered long ago on our many trips to Earth that if we came in large numbers, the intercepts would never approach us." His large insect like eyes in that pointed, ashen grey face looked like they had a smile in them. "We come in numbers but, through a trick, your radar saw thousands, where there were only fifty. So the officer in charge did what he had been instructed to do."
"What was that?"
"Ignore us. Most likely, they simply assumed it was a radar malfunction. And if it wasn't, then they simply were going to turn the other way."
"Well, I'll be damned. On whose orders?"
"The orders came from the President of the United States."
"I'll be damned! Son of a bitch... Numbers..."
After goodbyes to us, especially to Josie, and after a deep, sardonic bow to Pierce, Bates gathered up his weapons and ammo and began running for his jeep. Jim and Powell, with Carlos in tow, did the same. Carlos looked back at me and waved goodbye, and I did too. But I knew he had a new family now, good men, even if at times rogues. But they were of his world, and this was the world he would have to grow into. I would miss my almost little brother. Yaroslaw and the Indians had already retreated into the bush, noiselessly, as if they had never been there. Josie waited by us, as he was about to enter a world he had never dreamt of, and certainly never learned of in his university studies. A new universe was about to open for him, and he waited with the patience of a man who was about to be blessed. It was far greater than he had ever imagined.
We made ready to board the ship with Uuuubh. Pierce and his man looked on. As we were about to leave the clearing to embark, Jim came running back to us, breathless. His movements were light, like those of a jungle cat. He came up to Uuuubh, fell to one knee, and took the Ebh'an's long pointed webbed hand to his forehead. With sincere heartfelt humility, head bowed, Jim simply said two words:
"Thank you."



Chapter 24: The Ship.


We left the two men standing there, as the ship's entry port closed slowly. On the center viewing screen over the control panels their shapes, visible by the ship's light, looked sad and forlorn. As the engines energized the massive water rings and began to rise, the Ebh'ans do not use the clarified crystals of metal as we do, one of them feebly raised an arm and waived to us. As the Ebh'ans do not have audio on board their vessels, we could not call to them, nor them to us. So in the silence broken only by the loud thumping of the engines, as if someone slowly beat a very large drum, we left them on the jungle's floor, now but a large tract of tree stubble left as testimony to some failed idea of progress. The other ships also rose into the sky and attended to their duty of deprogramming. Within seconds, we had lifted off and were on the edge of Earth's atmosphere. The massive jungle below was now lost in the dark shadow of the planet's surface.
"Mother, are you sad to leave your world behind, once more?"
"I have gotten to spend eight days on my home world. It will have to do for now. But, yes, I am sad. It may be a long time before I return. And by then, the people I have known may have grown old, or died. But I am of a new world now. It's there I am loved and wanted. So I leave my world with a heavy heart, but not so heavy."
The cabin interior of the ship was as I had remembered from visiting the Ebh'ans before, sparse and devoid of things familiar to me. But they were no longer repulsive to me. The walls seemed to curve out and then above us, like the inside of a large, dark egg. There were small seats, which fit me, but were too little for the other humans. Josie sat in one of these, his long legs almost up to his chin, and he looked around him in silent amazement. It was bright inside, but the soft material of the walls made of a tough fiber, almost dark brown in color, seemed to especially catch his attention. Tenya and the others were well familiar with this, but he was not. And the smell that seemed to permeate the ship, a smell that reminded me of the underbelly of an insect, was as always a source of discomfort to us. After the clean smell of green jungle, it impressed itself darkly on our awareness. It did not have the familiar warmth of a mammalian smell. But after the acrid smoke of the fires, it was a welcome change just the same. Josie watched the Ebh'ans maneuver the craft far out into space, accompanied by the other crafts around us. It looked like an armada of Ebh'an machines, all pulsating with their soft rainbow light. The planet had grown very small now, a crescent bluish orb suspended in the black heavens, its moon keeping it mute company. We could see it all on the viewing screen where sat the Ebh'an pilots, their hands busy over the flashing lights of their control panels.
We were collectively sad at leaving the planet, a living world, but not yet of the Living Worlds. Josie held his silence no longer.
"Where are we going? I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined anything like this. I'm in space! Maya, do you think I am only dreaming?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes, we all are. But to your way of thinking, this is all very real. You really are here, and so are we. And we are on our way to the Star-ship that brought us here. She should be visible on the screen in moments. Not prepared, are you?" I smiled at him. His smile faded instantly into a look of worry.
Josie peered at the large screen, showing us all of the stars of the galaxy ahead. Then out of these, one pulsed differently from the other lights. It shone blue and red, alternately, and then green. Those were the external lights of the Star-ship. As we got closer, we could see the iridescent waves of lights that power the great Ship. And in seconds, we were close enough to hear her large engines sing their haunting cosmic song. We were approaching the mother Ship. And she was beautiful.
"I have known you for only eight days," Josie said to mother, "and already my life is changed forever. I cannot believe this has happened to me. All that I see is most strange. Will I ever return to my world again?"
"You will, Josie. But you will not be the same man who left. You will have seen things that almost none had seen from your world. I was the first to see it in a very long time. But Paul and Uuuubh felt it safe to bring you with us, as it may not have been safe for you to stay."
"But what danger would I have had back there? Surely, after the Ebh'ans cast their deprogramming rays down on the people below, they would have been no threat to us."
"It was not the soldiers we worried about."
"Then who?"
"He may have been your friend, and he proved himself in the end, but we worried about Bates. He could have, though maybe he would not, used you as an excuse for his failure to bring us in. His word against yours, and you would have been at a disadvantage."
"So, in the end, you still did not trust him? But he would have forgotten, as would I."
"But he may not have. I liked the man, but his soul was corrupted by the people who employed him, and this sets his mind a certain way. We could not be sure. Paul said to me, though you did not hear it, that covert intent against us was not easily felt by telepathic means. It is because we communicate at a sincere level, which is not how Earth minds always work. But he saw that yours did, as that of Ku'Kuya. You two were the only ones he would have allowed to join us in space, and maybe Yaroslaw. The others must stay behind, for now."
"But what of Carlos, mother?" I asked.
"He is still too young to know of things that would have left him permanently disoriented. Josie is a scientist, so his mind can better grasp what is happening. But Carlos's would have not. And that would have hurt him in the end. He had seen too much already."
"Will he forget, also?"
"All those left behind will forget, hopefully."
"Then we could have brought him with us after all?"
"Yes, if the circumstances were right. But they were not, at least not for now."
The Star-ship had grown large now on the viewing screen, and we could see light coming from its many viewing walls. Though I had been away for only over a week, it seemed foreign to me, as if I had difficulty remembering what it was like being aboard. Earth has a strange influence on one's psyche, I thought. It really is another reality. But the sight of the Ship had an incredibly strange influence on Josie. He had never seen a vessel so large. At first, he thought it was some illusion of space and distance. He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands and then looked again, mouth slightly open.
"Is your space ship really as large as I think it is?" he finally asked.
"The Ship's name is Ka'ankh'an. And she is the fastest Ship we have." I did not tell him that she had just made history by surviving an incredible journey through the gravity hole. "She is large, but not the largest."
"How fast can she travel?"
"We have taken her to over four thousand times the speed of light."
Josie gave off a low whistle. His mind could not accept that anything could travel so fast. Even the speed of light only made a muddled impression on his reasoning mind. It all seemed too miraculous to believe.
Josie now turned his attention to the instruments and operating room where Jim had been made whole. The instruments looked clinical in his mind, but they were like none he had ever seen in any operating room. To him, they even looked haphazard and unclean. But the Ebh'ans have some of the best medical knowledge of living organisms in our Galaxy, so they were the appropriate choice to tend to a wounded man. I suspected Seth had sent them.
Uuuubh was now at the controls, his mind communicating with the commander of Ka'ankh'an. As they have no audio communications, I could not hear what was being said. But judging from our maneuvers, we had been given clearance to enter one of the large receiving bays in the massive oval Ship. Josie's eyes grew wide as we approached this entry way, it's large opening gaping in the side of the Ship. We slid into her belly soundlessly, except for the soft thumping of the engines. We touched down, as did two other vessels. The others stayed a distance from the Ship. Seth was on the viewing gallery to meet us.
When the entry way opened, Seth, accompanied by Kahla and Master and Ta'an, approached the ship. We stepped down the ramp and his face lit up in a smile. Josie hung back a moment.
"You all look so wonderful to my eyes! Na'amsat." Seth held his hand together before him in the traditional greeting on Ka'ananda. "And I am happy to see you all back safely." Then to me: "How did you like your mother's world, Maya?"
"I loved it! It is beautiful, and so much happens there. The place is wild!"
Seth gave me a smile, as did Mother and Father. Kahla and Ta'an then came over to us. Kahla was very happy to see San'aa again. The others also looked at us with their kind eyes. Then all turned their attention to Uuuubh.
"Thank you for delivering them to us. And thank you for saving the man who was hurt," Seth spoke to Uuuubh.
"We could have done no less," Uuuubh communicated to us. He gave a slight bow, as the people of his world customarily do. Even Josie could hear him now, now that his telepathic powers were being enhanced by his presence in the Light of the Ship. "The man hurt was a good man, so it was easy for his body to heal itself. We only assisted so that it could do so."
Then all turned to Josie, and he suddenly felt a pang of shyness, as if the attention from all these beings, fantastic in his eyes, was momentarily uncomfortable to him. Then, hesitantly, he smiled.
"Welcome to our world, Josie," Seth said, bowing and holding his hands in greeting.
"You know my name?"
Seth smiled at him, but Josie's attention was taken with the android Master.
"You are known to us at many levels," Seth replied, "and all here welcome you on our Ship."
"I am honored and privileged to meet you. Never in my dreams had I ever seen a world like yours. And your lights are so bright!" Josie looked around him involuntarily. The other people on the viewing gallery were hearing all this, and I could tell from their smiles that they were pleasantly amused.
"The light is more in your head than in your eyes. That is what powers our Star-ship. And you will hear it, when the engines engage, in your inner ear as well. But it will not be uncomfortable to you." Then Seth noticed Josie looking at Master. "And I would like you to meet Paul's personal android. His name is Master, and he is indispensable to our operations here."
Master took a couple of steps forward towards Josie.
"Welcome to our Ship, Josie. I would be happy to show you around and answer any questions you have of how our machines work."
"But aren't you a machine?" Josie asked, incredulous. Master understood his question.
"Yes. I am a product of artificial metabolics and intelligence. So I am different from all you see here, except other androids, of which we have many. But you will find that in many ways, I have been programmed to emulate the human beings here. So do not be alarmed. You may speak to me as you would to anyone else."
Master gave a short bow, as if to punctuate what was said. Then he took Josie by the hand, who followed willingly, and began explaining all that he was seeing. Then Seth turned to us.
"Uuuubh, would you join us in conference? We will be serving drinks shortly, for all. You are welcome to bring your crew aboard."
Uuuubh communicated this to the others aboard the other vessels, and they also joined us. We retired to a large hall in the viewing area. Earth, now a small blue crescent in the distance, shone brightly. Robots and androids served us sparkling drinks, some specially mixed for the Ebh'ans to appeal to their sense of taste. There were now over a hundred people in the hall, and all talked excitedly of our visit to Earth. Many aboard Ship would have loved to have had the chance to descend to the forbidden planet, but that would have to wait until the time of Contact. Then a great showing of goodwill and love would be made, when Earth was ready. In time, Josie returned from his brief tour of the Ship and joined all present. In a way, on this trip he was our first representative from Earth, and now he was becoming aware of it too.
"I don't know how to thank you for the wonderful gift you have given me, Paul. There is a radiance here that I had never seen before, and everyone is so pleasant. When Master introduced me to others on board, I was made to feel as if I were a member of a great and beautiful family. I feel so welcome, something I could never duplicate in return. Thank you."
"You are welcome, Josie. And they could read you with their minds, in a way that is difficult to explain at this moment. They are only responding to you, and you to them, as I thought you would, without fear and doubt. You are as one of us, even though you are of a different world. But you will meet others aboard, in time, who are also of different worlds. And you will see it in them too. It is more than a telepathic meeting of minds. We meet at the soul."
Josie felt moved deeply by this, like he had stepped into some magical world he could not believe. But he was believing it now. He just stood there, looking about the room, and taking it all in. Then he said quietly, to me:
"If I had died, and gone to Heaven, it could have not been better. Your world is so perfect, everything I ever wanted from mine. But there, it is only a dream. Here, you've made it reality."
"It all started in the Dream," I said. "But we all applied our minds and hearts to make it real. That is what we want for your world also. And I am sure it will come, when it is ready. And people like you, the good and true of heart, will make it happen, someday. I just hope it is not too far in the future, because many on your world are ready now. We want to be there for you when you are finally allowed to be who you truly are."
Josie accepted a sparkling drink from a passing android, and carefully drank it. Then his eyes looked into mine, as if to say, how do you make these?
"Better than even a merengata, isn't it?" I said, laughing. He smiled back.
"It is like a merengata, and soda water, and a fine wine all in one. Will this make me drunk?"
"No! Not at all. But it will refresh you and stimulate you in a very fine way. But you can drink too much of it, and become overstimulated, so for now, you should moderate its intake."
Josie gave me a nod of understanding, then took another swallow. Already his mind was becoming more attuned to all in the room. He now was feeling truly as one of us, much like wine makes people feel more at ease in gatherings. When we had been on Earth long ago, wine was meant only as a ceremonial drink. As its appeal became universal, and as not all could tolerate it equally, we saw the error of what we had done. But Josie was safe here. He was about to take another drink from an android, but I cautioned him that the one he was reaching for was meant for the Ebh'ans. He instinctively retracted his hand and reached for the correct one. There would have been no harm if he had drunk it. It would have tasted more like the inside of a flower, but bitter like tree sap.
Uuuubh and his party excused themselves from the gathering and made ready to return to their ships. Their Star-ship was waiting at a more distant orbit around Earth, and they had matters to attend regarding the return of Tenya's downed ship. It's unhappy cargo was of great importance to them, and they needed to confer with their Ship regarding strategy. And though they were barred by the Unity from retrieving the bodies themselves, they were free to aid us in their return. That was our next challenge. In time I learned that Josie was chosen by the Ebh'ans, and the Unity, to help us. Paul's rescue was more than it seemed.


Chapter 25: Awakening.


"Maya, the Dreamers have completed their analysis of your visit to Earth, and they are very satisfied. They say your first Planet-walk carried very well."
"You mean, Father, that this was my Planet-walk?"
"Only a mini-walk. They know in the Dream that you will have much to do with your mother's world. These are only small training steps, like the first steps when you learned to walk. But you were born to do this work, so your progress is very important to them."
"Were you with them when they worked on this?"
"I was one of the Dreamers. So I saw all they were doing. Ta'an has confirmed it on the grids. We found no evidence of fabric damage in Earth's reality, in spite of the bizarre turn of events."
"And what of Seth's permission to let Mother take Kahla's place, and the guns?"
"Seth's decision was a good one, though he took risks in ordering it. But there was no damage there either, only positive developments. So the Unity is satisfied." Then as an afterthought, he added: "We will remain in orbit for the next few days, then the next strategy will be put in place. Do you have things you want to attend to before you return to the surface?"
I had already been giving it thought, and knew what I had to do.
"I'm going to help Master with Josie's education. He has much to learn before we return. Will you return with us again?"
"The Dreamers feel that I should."
"And Mother?"
"She and Tenya will stay aboard the Ship. It will be only the three of us, you, me, and Josie. We are the only ones to help with the retrieval. Of course, we will be aided by the Ebh'ans."
"Is that from the Unity?"
"No, love. This comes from those whom all respect most, even the Unity. It came from the Fallah'Ans."
"They are the Dream, aren't they?"
"They live in it closer than any other sentient beings. So we all listen when they speak to us. And this retrieval seems very important to them. They say a meaningful Contact is predicated on the success of our mission."
Paul looked at me lovingly, his eyes speaking from the depth of his soul into mine. He loved me very much, though we seldom lived together. Mother had taken up life with Seth, and though they also loved me, my father had a special love for me. It was the love that comes from absence, from not having closest what one wants most. But we were to be together for a time, and that made both of us happy. We had much work to do, and in that work, our souls would share in a communion that can only be bonded by danger and risk. We were both afraid, but in that fear was also the faith of our love for each other. And there was also the love for a strange and mysterious world. But it was a test that went both ways. What we felt, the Earth also felt with us. That was the meaning of Planet-walk.
I went to find Josie. At long last, I found him with Ta'an, who was instructing him on how the learning tapes worked. Josie was holding up one of the information nodules when I walked into the chamber. He looked up at me and smiled, joy written on his eyes and lips as if he were holding a rare and precious treasure in his hand.
"What are you going to look at next, Josie?"
"I have already seen the jewel on how your minds work." He called the information nodules 'jewels', as that was how they looked to him, each nodule shining a different color and size.
"Have any better inkling of what makes us do what we do?"
"Some. You are very mysterious, and at the same time so familiar to me. I had never experienced such purity of mind as I felt in that jewel. But now I am turning to technical things. I want to know how the Light works."
He had the anticipation of a child that was about to unwrap a rare gift for which he had waited a long time, though he was surprised to receive it nevertheless. Josie was now dressed in one of our travel suits, which fit well on his lean body. His one piece body suit was of the light blue color, which it normally is at comfortable temperatures. In high heat, it would turn almost silvery white, while in cold it turns a dark blue-green. As he would soon learn, because of its ability to accommodate these extremes of temperature, the body is never uncomfortable.
"Josie knows that there are things he cannot know, at this time," added Ta'an. His cherubic face had a serious look, as if to emphasize to Josie what was being said. Josie understood.
"I know I still cannot know how your Ships work, their main power source. But can I know what is your fuel source?"
"You will see that. But you will be surprised to find the answer. Our fuel, with the use of the Light, is much more abundant then you ever imagined. But let us make you ready for your next lesson."
Josie sat back, letting the head and neck padding close softly around him. He was lying back, his eyes closed, and he raised his hand silently to let us know he was ready. Ta'an pressed in the commands. Josie's face relaxed as the learning machine engaged.
Ta'an left him in my care, so I activated the monitor that allows me to tap into what Josie saw. The interactive machine showed him how the crystals worked to channel the Light into all of our functions. This included our homes, our ships, and even our cities. Josie had many questions on how the Light was used for healing, how it mended cells, even directed them in growing back missing bone and tissue. All the cells have a holographic memory of what all the other cells are doing, so this was simply a matter of rechannelling that information to the newly created cells. But there are limits to this. We could not grow back a whole limb, for example, because of insufficient information in the body to do this. Also, we could not grow back a whole organ if the entire organ is missing, though we could repair one that is damaged. The Light is related to the same energy in the body that gives it the life sustaining energy that carries us through a lifetime, until we grow too old, when the cells themselves begin to forget their information, and ultimately must die. Josie had many questions on that too. He wanted to know why we die. But the machine could not answer that. No one knew the answer to that final of mysteries. It is simply how the universe is designed to constantly change and renew itself, and death is an important part of this process. Even the Dreamers never found a suitable answer to this.
Then Josie was shown how the Light is used in powering the Dream, the Dream chambers, and how the mind's energy is transferred onto the powerful machines that interpret the dreaming process in terms of reality, what we call the grid-maps. In inverse, the dreaming state can then be used to rechannel reality in terms of where we are on the grids, to effect change in terms of everything else in reality, so that it all flows the way it is supposed to, without damage to the flow of natural events. This is even used on the Living Worlds in managing life on the planets. When cities are built, and we are forced to destroy a part of the planet for this purpose, with the help of the Dream, we can do it in a way that displaces reality with the least damage. Then all the animal and plant life can adjust easily to the changes that were to occur. This was another process Josie had a great interest in, as it directly affected the tropical jungle world he came from. There were also many questions on why the mind becomes more telepathic when in the Light. He was surprised to discover that the energy of the Light and the energy of the brain were as one, so one tended to reinforce the other. Telepathy was only a natural by-product of the Light's technology.
There were questions on physics, and how light operates in the universe, to which the machine gave him answers. The Light was an energy that made light act both as a wave and a particle, the energy in between the two. But when his question was why, the only answer he received was that this knowledge had to be given to him in an information transfer of consciousness from our world to his. There are things that had to remain secret for now. Did this not sound like the secrecy the governments of Earth have from her people, he wanted to know. The answer was that it was, very much like that, except that the secrecy came from a different place in the scheme of things. One was to hide and retain power, whereas the other came from awareness and understanding. When the Earth was ready for this knowledge, then the information would no longer remain a mystery. It was the same with how the Ships were powered. To offer the information now would only empower those who held the planet in their grip of power. And that was not the intent of consciousness in the universe. It had to come from compassion rather than fear.
Finally, as Josie's face showed total relaxation, his facial color radiating calm and a peaceful surrender, the teaching entered the realm of our fuel source. Josie watched with the consciousness of an altered state information that he would some day use on his world, when it was time. What came as an answer was a surprise to him. The tapes said that motion is change and chance, and that the fuel source came from the same source as that which powered all the energy in the known universe. This energy was available in infinite abundance anywhere in the cosmos, on planets and stars, as well as out in the vast areas of open space. It was most easily evident when in the presence of atoms and molecules, as this was what puts them in motion. Then his quick mind responded that molecules and atoms were everywhere, and that the fuel was abundantly available in all things. This meant fuel could be found in any fluid mass, even water. Then a new connection appeared that he also grasped instantly, that change was a metaphysical phenomenon that connected all reality instantly, all through the universe. And that chance was only a manifestation of not knowing what took place at the outer reached of the infinite. He was corrected, that this was already known to itself, but not to us. So chance was only the effect of the limitations of mind, and that at infinity, it existed only as a potentiality for the future. Josie relaxed again as, for a moment, he had become tense. Understanding is often a stressful kind of work, but realization is the release of that stress. Then another revelation came to him, that the potentiality in the Dream was the same as that of infinity. This was something even I did not fully understand, but Josie had no difficulty with it. His clear mind saw easily through some unfathomable instinct what reason could perceive only dimly: That in the Dream, by dreaming with the mind, the fuel source of what powers all on our world, the Light, was connected to how unfolded events in our existence, in terms of ourselves. So that was our contact with the Infinite, he asked? The answer he received was that the chance of change was removed from the limitations of the mind in the Dream. Then the information on the grid-maps was how reality was seen by itself, and the mind was released from the mystery of not knowing its own future. But even there, Josie's mind had more questions, except now he was becoming lost in the process of his own thoughts, so he faltered. He had reached his limit and did not know how to ask the next question. The teaching gently came to an end.
Josie lay back quietly, letting his mind return to its normal state. The padding retreated from around his head, and he opened his eyes. I also removed the monitor flaps and looked at Josie's awakening.
"How did it feel?" I asked him.
He took a moment to reply.
"Like my head is wonderfully filled, but if anymore, it would have burst." He closed his eyes again, and then opened them, looking at me. Then he smiled. "I have never seen and understood so much in such a short time. Do you think I could learn how to be a Dreamer?"
"Not for a very long time," I smiled back at him. "What you just saw was only a tiny fraction of what you would need to know to condition your mind for the Dream. There are those on my world who are so awed by it, that they never even try. And others spend half a lifetime to prepare. You see, Dreamers experience all that is, even the most intense emotions of all existence. Only a gifted few can Dream from a young age."
"Was Paul one of them?"
"Yes, he was. But you would never know it, from talking to him."
"I know. He seems a very normal person in so many ways, but then he seems special too. Like his gentleness is a genuine part of him, and not an affect. Does he ever get angry?"
"As a rule, we do not. But San'aa can get very angry!"
"That's because she is of my world," Josie laughed lightly. "And we must appear a treacherous lot to you, no?"
"Yes, in some ways you do. But that is why I like your world so much. It has a energy that we don't see on other worlds."
"Then maybe this is the energy we will add to the Living Worlds," Josie responded, smiling at me pleasantly, as if some revelation had just entered his head.
"And maybe that is why the Universe wants us to bring out Earth's consciousness. Maybe Earth is the next step in the Dream."
"But we don't know it yet, do we?"
"No. Earth still sleeps."
"Then I want to be there when she wakes."
"So do I."



Chapter 26: Mission.


Preparations were being made for the final assault. Three days had passed since our return, and now we were being summoned to return ahead of schedule. The Ebh'ans, who have a special interest in this phase of the operation, had alerted us that the fallen ship had been discovered. The natives of the jungle who live nearby, chanced on it on a hunting expedition, and now the government authorities of the United States of Brazil were mobilizing to converge on the area. Our monitors confirmed their movements, and time was pressing us into action once again. We had to complete the rescue of the shuttle craft in the time allotted before we returned to the gravity hole. There was no time left to prepare further.
"The Dreamers have given us only a two day window of opportunity to retrieve the ship," Paul was saying to Josie, "so we have to descend to the planet's surface immediately. The Ebh'an ships have already gathered, and are prepared to secure our approach with their decoy maneuvers."
"Will Uuuubh be amongst them?"
"Yes, he will lead their party. We will be making ready to leave in about two hours. Our communications sector is now preparing to disable Earth's defense radars in the region. Once they give us the go ahead, we board. Are you ready to go with us?"
"I am ready, but there is still much I do not know. But I know the jungle."
"Then that is what we may need most."
Master was standing by. Our onboard factories had reproduced machetes made from our own metal, and Josie weighed one in his hand. He gave us an approving look.
"Master would also be coming with us," I said to Josie. Tenya and San'aa were to stay behind. I will fly back one of the ships, and Father will fly back the other."
"Can I fly a ship?" Josie asked in earnest.
"I don't see why not. You can learn from one of our tapes in about an hour. There is still time."
We hurried to the central information chamber and Josie eagerly readied for his most important lesson. He would learn subliminally all the commands one needs to know in flying a shuttle craft. When he touched the controls, it would be as if he had flown them all his life. I returned to Control to attend any last minute instructions that may arise.
"There was a communication from Uuuubh that they have located their communications box," Seth said to me, when I arrived. "This will mean that they will try to retrieve this as well."
"Is that the one that went down with their ship in 1947, over New Mexico?"
"Yes. It is the size of a pack of Earth cigarettes, metallic silver, and in it is stored all the information of what happened on that day. They want it back."
"Who has it now?"
"It's in the hands of government scientists. But they could never do anything with it, it seems. We don't want them to have any more time with it, or they may uncover an important secret on the functions of the fallen craft."
"You mean the one in Brazil?"
"Yes. The technology can be transferred from one to the other."
"Do we have time, Seth?"
"The Dreamers gave us two days to retrieve the ship, and another three days for the communicator. Then we have to prepare to return to the center of the Galaxy. If we don't, then you know what will happen. We have less time than we previously thought."
"The Star-ship will dissolve into pure energy, with all aboard." Then a thought occurred to me. "But Paul and Tenya were not with us. What would happen to them?"
"They would last a few minutes longer, aboard the Star-ship, and then they would be killed when the Ship disintegrated completely. Unless we left them on Earth."
Suddenly, the whole sequence of events came sharply into focus. There was little room for error. We had to retrieve the ship and the Ebh'ans communicator with all speed, and return to the Star-ship. A delay could be fatal for us all.
"That makes me afraid, Seth."
"I know, love. We are all afraid. But we cannot begin our return until we fulfill the demands of what is at hand. The Unity has asked us to do this."
I thought all would be well when Tenya and Father were rescued, but that was only half of what needed to be done. We were now in a new phase of the mission, and suddenly all that was solid and secure in our existence was thrown into doubt. We had only five days to complete the retrieval and return, or the consequences for all aboard would be fatal. We could not fail.
The Ebh'an vessels were now visible through the viewing walls, their shimmering lights defining space around us. Josie had returned from his learning tapes and was standing by. He held a machete in hand, which made him look a native of the jungle. It also gave him a certain comfort, as he also knew the severity of our next mission. Still, he had a smile on his face. Tenya was to stay behind, and it was only at the last moment that Seth revealed to her what I already knew. Mother was pregnant with my little half-brother. Seth wanted her by his side, so there was no way of overriding the Dreamers' instruction for her to stay behind, though they had talked about it. Two other pilots were to take her place, and they would fly down in the second shuttle craft with Master. Paul and Josie and I were to take the first. We were ready.
"The radars have been silenced, so you may board the ships. The Light be with you," Seth said to us. It was our signal.
Seth and San'aa led our party to the departure bays. We received final instructions, which consisted of how to abort the mission if time was running out. San'aa gave Paul and me a strong hug, her face showing fear and concern for our safety. But I gave off no fear, and neither did Paul. Josie smiled at her. He was eager for the prospect of danger. It empowered him, and he was glad to return to his world. Master was as usual thorough and correct, his marvelous mechanical mind assessing all the risks and possibilities. Seth brought his hands in the way of worship, as did we, and all gave each other strong support with our minds. We were ready for what faced us, and we boarded.
The Ebh'an ships led the way to the planet, their disks flying in a vast star formation. Our two were in the center, as if we were being protected by their greater numbers. Within minutes, we were approaching the planet's surface, and quickly slipped beneath the surveillance capabilities of defense radar, just in case. Our ships, now on full power, lit the jungle tops beneath us, their lights casting shadows on the night below. It was a couple of hours before dawn at our destination, but secrecy was no longer of importance to us. We had the power of numbers, and we knew the military intercepts would not attack. We were wrong.
"Intercept jets from the north," was a mechanical voice that alerted us to danger. It was a specially designed on board program made for this mission.
"We have them on visual," was Paul's reply. "Ebh'ans on alert. How in the hell did they override their radars?"
"We see them, Paul. They must have picked us up on visual," was Uuuubh's high pitched reply. "Earth people are clever. We will take evasive action."
As Father dimmed the lights on our ship, Master did the same on his, and we separated from the cluster of Ebh'an ships. They took off vertically in a blinding flash, and in seconds were beyond Earth's atmosphere. This confused the pursuing war planes, and they began circling listlessly, trying to understand what had happened. We had now gone beyond the reach of their onboard equipment, and were safe from them. But we were alone.
The planned full scale assault had been negated by the appearance of the jets. We were not instructed to engage them in combat, ever, so our only remaining course of action was evasion. This was not our battle, but theirs, and now the jets were faced with fighting it alone, without us. This was how we wanted it.
"You know what that means, Maya?" Paul was talking to me in my mind.
"Yes, Father. I know. It means that the Ebh'ans' deprogramming was not totally effective." I replied to him in the same way.
"I suspect Pierce was immune somehow, and alerted his agency that our downed ship was still here. In the past three days, he has had enough time to piece together what had happened, and now he was back to foil our attempt at retrieval."
"We'll have to do it regardless, even if he knows we are here."
"Then maybe the deprogram did not work on all the others present."
This, to our surprise, came from Josie. With the training he had received on his short stay aboard the Ship, and with the influence of the Light, he could read our minds with relative ease. Now he was using the same method of communications.
"Welcome, Josie!" Father looked at him, amused and serious at the same time. "You're one of us already."
"I feel that I am. But what of Bates? And the others?" he telepathically asked. "Will they be in danger?"
"Possibly. We cannot know until we're there."
Our ship made a surprise detour of ninety degrees and began heading further south into the Amazon. Master stayed with us, without missing a beat. A minute had elapsed since we lost the jets, and now we were hovering over the downed ship. It lay in the bush beneath us, but there was no sign of any other presence there, save for the natural wildlife. We contacted the robot onboard, which confirmed our observation. We had it deactivate the protective shields around its craft. It was raining, a thick cloud passing overhead throwing down its torrent of water. We descended cautiously over the downed ship, our energy shields causing a large umbrella of dryness on the jungle below. Our lights remained dimmed, and we touched down softly over the tops of the trees. There our ships hovered. I activated the energy vectors that would lower us to the jungle floor, and we all stood at the entryway as it opened for us. The jungle's natural perfume greeted us, it still moist from the rain. Josie stood with his machete in hand, grinning and taking a deep breath, as did Paul. Father had gotten used to this primitive tool while on the work party. Now he too wielded it with the ease of a native. They almost looked alike. We lowered to the surface, the ships remaining above us. Master and the two pilots aboard the other ship stayed behind.
When we felt the soft loam of the jungle beneath our feet, the energy vectors released us, and we were standing on the planet once again. Just as we made our first move forward, flood lights lit up the jungle all around us. We were blinded by it, unable to ascertain what had happened. Then a voice came on, crackling like it was being broadcast from a great distance. It spoke in Portuguese:
"Halt! Do not move! You have entered a secured military area. Return from where you came, or your will be fired upon by remote controlled weapons!"
The military, no doubt, had figured that the presence of soldiers would have been picked up by our sensors, so they devised a mechanical, remote controlled plan.
"There's a television camera, there!" I yelled to Father. Josie, like a lighting fast cat, leapt at it and smashed it with his machete, in a hail of bullets. He fell to the ground, lying still. He was unhurt. They missed him. Paul and I threw ourselves to the ground at the same instant, looking about for the other cameras. There must have been more than one, for triangulation.
"One's over there," I whispered, pointing from my prone position.
"I see it, love. And another there." Paul pointed to the other side of the ship. "Josie, lie still. We'll activate the robot."
Just then, one of the ship's two robot activated and floated down from the entryway. Another loud roar of bullets accosted us, but were unfocussed and sprayed the area randomly. The robot, miraculously, was not hit and glided over to us.
"Disable the two cameras, as they are the eyes of those shooting at us."
The robot was shown where they were and quickly glided over to one, crushed it in its mechanical hand, and then began for the other when a hail of bullets again tore the air, whizzing over our heads. One caught it in the head, sending it backwards somersaulting through the air, smashing against a tree. It fell to the ground, destroyed, shattered in pieces. There was still one camera left. But without the three, unless the weapons were equipped with lasers, they had no aim.
"Let's make a run for it!" Father yelled, and we all sprinted for the open entryway. As we ducked inside, another hail of bullets crisscrossed the jungle, but we were inside. The steel projectiles were powerless against the durable metallic-compound skin of the craft.
"Your scientists are good, Josie, to make such remote controlled weapons," I said from the safety of the ship.
"They're good, alright. But my countrymen aren't that good. They're probably American. But they didn't hit us." Josie had an impish grin on his face.
When we entered, the interior light activated automatically. The ship had been undisturbed, as none had the means of entering it, save for Tenya or us. The robots had successfully kept the others away. But the presence of weapons outside led us to believe that the military troops were not far off. So we had to work quickly. One of the cameras was still operational, so they knew we were here. It remained trained on us at all times.
The four Ebh'an bodies were still in their metal casings, of Earth design, in which they had been preserved. They were secured against one of the walls of the cabin. Josie looked at them uncomfortably, as if they would suddenly rise from the dead. He had begun to believe that anything was possible on our world. Paul nimbly worked the controls to get the power fields back into functioning frequency sequence. This took him a minute, and the ship began humming with that soft voice which tells when the Light had been engaged. Josie watched him, smiling. He now knew what he was doing. He put down his machete and took another of the pilot's seats. I did the same. The second robot was stored. The entryway was now closed, so the three of us began activating the power grids to get the fallen trees off the craft. Then we activated the force bow that would lift us off the jungle floor. As soon as the ship moved, another volley of bullets was released. We then activated the viewing walls, to see the jungle around us. The flood lights revealed no motion outside.
"Well, kids. This is it. Let's get out of here!"
Paul began to press the ship's disabled field generator into action. But much like a machine that had not been used for a long time, it was hard to manipulate into the sequence we needed. But the same elapsed time had a way of recharging the capacitors that stored the planet's dipolar energy differentials, so the craft had more force than when it landed. We were able to get her off the ground, though it wobbled badly.
"Why is it wobbling?" Josie asked us, mentally.
"The sequence channels were damaged when hit by radar. If they knew this, they would have brought radar out into the jungle and bombarded the ship with it. Then it would have stayed downed, unless much larger ships were brought in to lift her with the vectors."
Josie understood instantly. He began to manipulate the control panel to try to stabilize the wobble. But it was too difficult for him, so I took over. In a few seconds, the wobble was reduced to a less thrashing rate. Any more and we would have destroyed all the trees around us, and possibly ourselves as well. She began to lift, slowly, lights pulsating. When the ship was almost level with the other two crafts, we stopped, suspended in the air but still wobbling slightly.
"What do you think, Josie?" I asked him, smiling.
He smiled back, a true and genuine smile.
"I learned to fly in a crippled space ship! No one would ever believe me!" He was truly happy with himself, no longer afraid of flying. "What do we do now?"
By now, Master had applied his vector fields on the craft, as he had been instructed, and began to tow her higher above the trees. Our other craft followed automatically, directed by the onboard computer. Beneath us, the jungle was a large circle of light, made visible by the powerful lights left on the jungle floor. Then we could see them. They were approaching from all sides, men armed with machine guns and dressed in jungle camouflage. They were looking up at us, unsure of what to do. A soldier, no doubt their commander, ordered them to shoot at us, but our force fields deflected their bullets. I knew those bullets would have been cut into splinters, all with clean straight edges, as if they had been cut by a laser knife. It was an effect of our energy fields.
When sufficiently out of range, Master activated the vectors to bring Josie and I onto the ship we came in. The air felt cool, as we were about two kilometers from the ground. The vector field hitch held. Paul stayed in the rescued ship. We lifted further, still looking down through the viewing walls. Helicopters were now visible, approaching the site we had just vacated.
"Father, look!" I said over audio. "They sent in helicopters!"
"I see them. But they can do us no harm up here. But we must lift faster, as the intercepts may be coming as well."
"They're here." It was Master. He was monitoring the skies. The other two pilots now were handling the controls. "Contact estimated at two and one half minutes."
"Then let's get up!" Paul commanded.
All three ships were now linked in a vector grid, like a three pointed star, and we applied all the power we could to lift out of the atmosphere. In a minute and a half, we were far above the reach of the military jets. We were on our way back to the Star-ship.
"So long, Pierce!" Father said jokingly. "Maybe we'll meet again, someday."
Josie smiled. We had retrieved Tenya's ship successfully. He was happy with that success. The whole operation took us less than twenty minutes.
As we rose into space, out of the Earth's atmosphere, the stars of the cosmos greeted us silently with their ancient and distant light, as if bearing witness. The four little, desiccated Ebh'an bodies aboard, three men and a woman, gave mute testimony to their final escape from a world that had claimed their lives. But they were free now, free from alien captivity, and free to be returned to their own world. Long released from pain by death, they would suffer no more at the hands of those who, in their ignorance, did not know what they were doing. Soon, they would be in the hands of their own. Though released by the impassive judgement of death, they were rescued by the compassionate love of the living, and finally they were free. The four Ebh'an bodies were going home.



Chapter 27: Mourning.

As we approached the great Ship, the Ebh'ans were already waiting for us. They had positioned their ships in formation leading to the landing bays, a long row of twenty five ships on each side. We flew our three crafts between the two columns towards the bays. A loud thumping sound, like the echoes of a distant heart beat, greeted us as we passed each Ebh'an craft. They were giving us a parade salute.
Inside the landing bays, a large crowd had gathered. The viewing galleries were full, heads craning to get a better look at our arrival. We were telecast on the great screen overhead, and the crystal rings had been activated for our arrival. When the entry ways opened, and we all simultaneously stepped out from the three ships onto the bay's surface, a soft murmur entered our heads. It was the voice of all the minds magnified by the Light crystals. We stood a moment before the gathered crowd, looking at them, assessing the gravity of their presence at our arrival. We had successfully retrieved four of the Ebh'an bodies from the planet below, and they were showing their feelings in a vast communal mourning. Ebh'ans were present amongst them. The murmur rose to a low hum, and then pressed into our heads and hearts with the strong feelings of sympathy that emanated from the crowd. Seth was amongst them, as was Uuuubh. They stepped forward.
"Paul, Maya, Josie," it was Seth addressing us mentally, "you have succeeded with the aid of Master and his assistants," the pilots who were young technicians, still called assistants, "in bringing back to us this grievous cargo. For that, the Ebh'ans and all present here are truly grateful to you. Their remains have been on the planet against the wishes of all here for many years, and now all are thankful at your bringing them back. You did your job well. Now Uuuubh would like to address you."
Uuuubh stepped closer, though his mind was powerful and there was no need to approach us. But he wanted to be closer to us as he delivered his thanks. He bowed and held his hands together before him. His strange large eyes were downcast, and his grey white face looked as if it could express great sorrow.
"My dear fellow human beings, we thank you from the depth of our world's soul for bringing back to us those who were most dear, and who had fallen in the course of their work on Earth. They had been missed by all who loved them, family and strangers alike, and now you have brought them back into the family of their world. You view death differently from us, as you and we are different at some very basic levels, but you understood the need we have for reclaiming our fallen brothers and sisters. And though there are others of our kind still trapped on the world that had claimed them, these four have been returned." He then looked up at us with a genuine gravity of his deepest emotions, which went through us like a hot knife. "Their lives will now not be lost to us, and they will continue to be amongst us in the way we remember all beings who had shared with us this existence. I can thank you only in a way that is meaningful to you, but to us the thanks reach far beyond anything we can say or do. We are truly and deeply grateful."
The murmur once again lifted over the landing bay, coming from above us in the viewing galleries, now once more lowered to a low hum, as if their voices and minds had mingled into the pure notes of a continuous bass that rose and ebbed, and then died away. Josie was most moved, and tears began forming in his eyes, as they did in mine. We had not realized how much the Ebh'ans cherished their own kind, even in death. This was a mourning of lives as we had never felt before. The crystals amplified these feelings to an even greater level, where all shared in the intensity of the Ebh'an grief. Suddenly, it seemed cruel that the Unity had forbidden these strange and wonderful beings from approaching Earth again. I felt guilty for their decision. Then Uuuubh, now attended by others from his ships, was ready to resume his speech.
"To commemorate your bringing back to us our own, we have composed a poem, which all will say in unison."
They composed themselves, and stood still as the bodies were retrieved from the craft by androids and brought out onto the landing bay. When they were placed before them, the light aboard Ship filling the air with its delicate brightness, all in the viewing galleries held a complete silence for the words that were about to be spoken. Then they began in a chorused mental unison:

"Now you will feel no pain,
For each of you will be loved and sheltered.
Now you will feel no thirst,
For you will be fed by the springs of our love.
Now you will feel no loneliness,
For we have each other in our hearts.
And as each of you will be a companion to the other,
Our bodies are in One.
There is but one life before you,
As there is for all in the dwelling place of the soul.
Enter into the days of eternity,
For we will always be with you."

The strange and mournful chorus ended, and all stood in total silence as the words spoken in the strange way of the Ebh'ans penetrated into each one of us. Their mourning had begun, and they began removing the thin and desecrated bodies from their tombs. These were carried with great reverence back to their waiting ships, one by one, as all stood and watched. It was a most solemn time for all present, as we all felt it deeply in our psyche. The bodies had been returned.
When they were preparing to leave, Seth addressed them:
"You are always welcome, our brothers and sisters. If there is any way we can help in the future, tell us. We will do the utmost of what we can to be of service to you."
Uuuubh answered:
"You already have served us, and we are deeply moved by your kindness and goodwill." Then he turned to the three of us standing. "And to you our people offer the greatest promise we can offer. You are welcome as brothers and sister on our world. You would never be turned away."
With those words, Uuuubh and his party turned from us silently and began to walk towards their waiting ships. They had said what they needed to say, and now were ready to board their Star-ship and return for home. I looked at them as they were about to board, and spoke from deep inside my mind:
"Thank you."
Uuuubh turned and looked at me with his penetrating eyes, but he did not say anymore. He entered into his vessel last, and the entryway closed behind him. In moments, they were gone.
All remained silent a long time after their ships had lifted from the landing bays and disappeared into the blackness of space. Earth shone brightly in the distance, a small and innocent blue globe suspended in the vastness of the Galaxy. They on that planet believed that space was empty, but one day they would wake to find that space is filled with the greatest energy the universe had to offer. It was the energy that gave us life and, in time, gave us the mind and soul so we could look back upon it and wonder. They would discover, when they woke, that the Universe was far from empty, but filled with a great and wonderful love.
Josie turned to us, after the ships had gone, and asked:
"Will they return?"
"They are always within reach, as we are to them, and to all in the Living Worlds."
"What we did was very important to them, wasn't it?"
I flashed in my mind an image of Josie jumping up to the camera in the jungle, machete in hand, and smashing it, sparks flying from its remains.
"Yes. What we did was very important," I said.
Then Father offered his words:
"Josie. What you have just witnessed, few ever do. The Ebh'ans are very secretive in their display of their deepest emotions. But we were blessed with being witness to their expressions of love as I had never seen before. We are truly fortunate."
"What will they do with the bodies?" he asked.
"We only know from what we were told of the Ebh'ans. But the bodies will undergo a long ceremony on their world, and then they will be specially treated before they are destroyed by a process that I can only describe as atomizing. But before they do this, they will have drawn from the bodies samples of fluid and tissue, from which they will isolate their former living being's essence. That essence will then be transplanted into new embryos, what they call the seed, and from that embryo will grow a new human being with most of the characteristics and memory of the former being."
Josie listened to Paul with complete attention, shadowed by disbelief. Then he asked:
"So they never die?"
"No. On their world, because of how they are and what they do, they never die as we do, but continue on in each successive existence. But they are not completely like us, as they evolved from different roots, so their belief system is different from ours."
"You mean we can't do what they can do?"
"More than that. We do not want to. Because we believe in the randomness of how the universe manifests itself in each and everyone of us, we respect what the universe manifests for us. Each one of us is individual and unique, whereas on their world, it is a greater virtue to be part of a continuum, like in a hive."
"So when we die, then it is final?"
"Not so. When we die, we return to where our being is from. We return to that part of the infinite existence that defined for us the individual we were in that life time. But that, to our belief, is never lost. So when we are born, some part of that defined existence returns into the new being. We call it past lives. But for us, the body is not as important as it is for the Ebh'ans. When we die and are reborn, we too follow a spiritual continuum, but it is not of our doing."
Then Josie asked:
"Like fate?"
I looked at him, and smiled. The others were now leaving the viewing galleries, and Seth was coming to speak to us. We were to make ready for the next phase of our rescue. We had made good time on the first phase, so we now had nearly five days left to complete the other.
"Just like fate," I answered his question, at long last, as we were turning to speak to Seth. Mother was with him. Then I added: "You see, it is only random."
Paul looked puzzled by what I said, but Josie got the joke and smiled back at me.
"Maybe it's not so random."


Chapter 28: Telegram.

Josie and I were alone, sitting in the soft reclining chairs in a chamber with viewing walls that opened on a full half circle of the cosmos. Earth was to the far left, and the large moon to our immediate right. We were almost equidistant from Earth in our orbits. We looked impassively at the spectacular vision of stars seen from this end of the Galaxy, just passing time in silence. The others were preparing for this last leg of the rescue mission. We had retrieved the downed ship, and the four bodies. Now we needed to focus on the Ebh'an communications device, which to their knowledge, and now ours, was located on one of the secret government installations on the planet. The Ebh'an sensors had focussed on an element in the communicator that was particular only to it. It was a crystalline matrix that they used in their communications through the various phases of space, much as tuning systems are used for different frequencies. Its signature could not be mistaken for anything else, so they could pin point it on the planet's surface. Seth had told us that it was being held at a scientific research laboratory hidden underground in northern New Mexico. We were making ready to go there directly.
Time was now on our side, as the previous mission had carried off so easily. There were about four and a half days before we had to return to the Ship. The Dreamers had warned us we could face disaster if we failed to pass through the gravity hole in the allotted time. They worked on this further, and it was Ta'an who had brought to us the news of new developments.
"The Dreamers are now in contact with the people of the Fallah'An sector. They have given us some new information regarding the gravity hole, but it still does not change our schedule. They wish to help us, but the reality sequence that got us here, and that affects our time existence, was damaged in our passage through it. They say we were fortunate we rematerialized in this reality, for we risked disintegration on reentry. They are now working with us to see if this danger could be avoided on the return voyage. The Universe is very demanding when this reality fabric is violated, and that is what he had done, in our ignorance."
When Ta'an left, after delivering this news, Josie and I sat silent again, just watching the changes in the shadows of the two worlds before us. We obviously were moving slowly in our orbit, as the angle of viewing was changing. Then Josie spoke, as if to no one in particular.
"Way down there, is my home. Up here am I. And my moon is very close. My fellow worlders had walked there. I wish we had time to get closer to it, scan its surface from up close. But I guess we don't. Still, I cannot help wonder what my mother is doing in the village..."
Then he drifted off in his thoughts, which continued in this vain without specific focus. He was dreaming in a wakeful state, and it felt good and peaceful to be with him. I felt the same dreaminess. Then a thought occurred to me.
"Why don't we beam down to her village and see?"
Josie became suddenly alert.
"Can you do that? I mean, can I see her?"
"Well... It's not easy, unless we have a communicator to focus on. But Mother left behind her lighter at the village. I remember she saying so when we boarded the bus. She wasn't upset by it, as it looks like a regular lighter, and no one would suspect otherwise. But I could focus on that, get its molecular reading from one aboard ship and, it being the only of its kind on the planet, we could use it to guide our transmission."
"You're always such a smart little girl, Maya. I think I understand what you mean. But I am not familiar enough with your technology to follow exactly."
"Then, let's get on with it!"
We found Master in the maintenance areas, working on the final preparations for our descent. He was coming with us, to man the ship while Paul and Josie and I were on the surface. His work was nearly done.
"Master, can you help us direct a transmission to the planet surface?"
"Where is it going?"
I explained what we wanted to do, and how we proposed to accomplish this. Master understood and amongst the supply stores found a lighter like the one San'aa carried. We took it to the communications center and tried out our theory.
"Now. Can we find its molecular signature on the surface?"
"Scanning. Yes. There it is. But it is broad daylight now, at your village, Josie. We can't just telecast down to the village square. We'd scare the villagers half to death."
"I know. They'd think it's ghosts," Josie said, smiling to himself. "But it's worth a try."
"I suggest that we focus more tightly. Let's get right into your mother's house. I think we could do that, as that is where the lighter is still lying."
We made ready for the broadcast. I sat in a large chair, as did Josie. Master stood behind the controls. We nodded that we were ready, and the lights dimmed in the chamber, except for the area immediately around us. We were in focus.
Directly ahead of us began playing a pinkish light, as if it were uncertain of how to materialize before our eyes. Then the vague images in it started to come together, and we could see clearly the outline of the interior of Josie's house. But the place was empty.
"Do you think she is outside," I asked.
"If she is outside, how can I call to her?"
"Use your thought process. Call her as she would recognize you calling. It may work."
Josie stared at the projected three dimensional image of the room inside the entrance and began concentrating. I could hear him in my head.
"Consuela, Mother. Where are you? Come into the house."
Nothing happened for a long time. He repeated the same message, looking at me with inquiring eyes as if to say, was he doing it right? I let him know this was okay. We waited a few minutes more. Master stood by the console, waiting for further instructions. Then we saw the figure of a woman standing in the doorway. She stood there a moment, as if absentmindedly trying to remember why she came in. Then Josie spoke to her with voice.
"It is I, Mother. Can you see me?"
She took a step forward, cautiously, as if suspecting some trick. The thought of ghosts was not too far from her fear. She leaned forward as if peering into the dim interior, not believing her eyes.
"Josie?" There was disbelief in her voice. "Is that you? Maya?"
Now her projection was coming in quite clear, as Master made the necessary adjustments, and I knew we were coming in more clearly for her.
"Yes, Mother. We are talking to you from a great distance. Is everything alright? I wanted to check in to see if you were alright."
"Why, yes. I'm fine. But where are you? You're not dead, are you?"
"Oh, no!" Josie replied, laughing. "I am very much alive. But I am in a place that is too wonderful to describe. And I am very far away."
"Thank Anthony you are fine. I had not heard from you, except from Bates, and he had some terrific story of how you went away in a space ship. He telegrammed me from Venezuela. I thought the message crazy, so I ignored it."
"You mean he remembered how I left?" Josie asked, concerned.
"I suppose. But it was so mad that I did not believe it. Was it all true?"
"What did Bates say, exactly?"
"I'll get the telegram. It's right here." She walked away out of focus, then came back. "I don't believe my eyes, nor ears. You know, just a little while back, I thought I heard my name called when I was outside, then I came home to get something, but I couldn't remember what. Is Father there with you?"
"No. I'm very much alive. What did he say?"
"Father?"
"No. The telegram."
"Oh?" Connie seemed somewhat disoriented. "It says: 'All got back to El Dorado. STOP. Josie and others left Earth in a space ship. STOP. Mission accomplished, but have strange headaches. STOP. Please let me know when Josie returns. STOP.' That was all."
"Why would he have headaches, Maya?" he directed the question to me.
Connie was watching us, not knowing fully what to think. Now she was believing we were involved in some secret scientific research he had never told her about. We could feel her thoughts, because of the way the transmission worked. It was as if we were there. I could hear the chickens clucking outside. I answered his question.
"Because that is a side affect of the Ebh'an deprogramming. But obviously, it worked poorly on him. I hope he's all right."
"So do I. Any chance we could pass through El Dorado before we head for our mission?"
"I would have to ask Paul. But maybe he will agree with us that we should."
"Mother, we must go now. But I will return or call you again soon. Please do not be afraid for me. And tell no one."
"I will keep this to myself. God bring you home soon," she added, but her thoughts were to hurry and tell the other villagers of what she had just seen. So Josie cautioned her:
"They will not believe you, Mother, and think you senile," he joked with her. She instantly understood that he could read her thoughts and looked abashed. Then she quickly added:
"Oh, I was just thinking it. But I see what you mean. I wasn't really going to tell anyone."
Josie winked at her, and then we signed off. She waved to us as we faded out.
"Well, at least I know Mother is all right. She can be so crafty. I don't really believe she won't tell anyone. What do I do when the villagers ask me about it?"
"Tell them a story. They will not believe it."
Josie smiled, then looked serious again.
"And what about Bates? Is he going to have those headaches long?"
"I don't know. Let's ask Paul."
We thanked Master and hurried back to Control, taking the long steps that our express walkways let us take. We were there in almost no time. I explained to Father what we had done, and about Bates, and he listened with concern. Then he offered his opinion.
"We still have time to detour. I agree with Josie. Let's first check on Bates in El Dorado. And let's check on the others as well."
We had all become concerned with their welfare. The Ebh'ans had not meant to hurt anyone, but the minds of Earth are not yet well suited to the mental manipulations of the hypno-machines. And I wanted to check on Carlos as well.
It was noon when we arrived at El Dorado. This time, the Ship had silenced the radar successfully, and we went down undetected. Paul was at the controls, with Master helping. Josie and I were the only passengers, though the ship could hold many more. We landed at a deserted clearing on the outskirts of the small town. There was no one around.
Josie and Father and I made for a jungle trail we knew would take us to the town. We saw it from the air. Master stayed behind with the ship. In a few minutes, we came into the square. No one saw us arrive, so no alarm was sounded. The place had the same seedy look it had before, but it was siesta time, so few were about. I saw Carlos sitting on the edge of the sidewalk in front of the hotel.
"Carlos. Remember me?"
He looked up startled, as if I had frightened him. So I put my finger to my lips to signal silence. He looked up inquiring, not fully registering where I came from. Then he recognized Josie and Paul, and his memory returned, gradually.
"Maya?"
"That's right. And you know Paul and Josie." They stood behind me, observing Carlos. He hesitantly smiled at us. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay. And you, okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine. We just came to see you and Bates. Is he here?"
"Upstairs. Why do I know you?"
"Because we're friends." He stood now, looking at us. "Are you reading?"
Now the truth dawned on him.
"You taught me to read! Of course, now I remember! I had somehow forgotten. I'm sorry I didn't remember you right away. But you were here so long ago." Carlos had an older look, sadder somehow. It had only been a few days.
"It feels that way to me too. But reading doesn't give you headaches?"
"No. But Bates has a headache. That's why he's lying down."
Carlos pointed upstairs, at the hotel. We all went up to the second floor where the rooms were and Carlos took us to the right door. We knocked and a soft voice inside said to come in.
It was hard to see in the dim room. The curtains were shut and the place smelled rank of how I remembered from before. In the poor light, I could see the place was untidy, messy and musty, like old mildew had settled into the walls. Paul and Josie stepped in, and Josie spoke:
"Bates, you okay?"
Jack Bates sat bolt upright, and then clutched his head with a groan, looking at us in disbelief.
"You! What are you doing here? I thought you had gone off into space, or something."
"We have, but we're back. Connie told me of your telegram and we were worried something happened to you. You have headaches, no?"
"Damn right I do. Fucken headaches. They just don't go away. I tried telling the doctor why I had them, and he almost sent the guys in white coats for me. I guess I was telling him too much."
"And of the others," Josie asked. "What happened to them? Do they remember?"
"They split. They said this place was bad luck, evil. So they took off for Bolivar."
"And the authorities? Anyone coming around asking questions?"
"Why would they come? Are they in on this too?" A momentary confusion set in, then he remembered something. "That's right! They were after us in jeeps. And we blew up the road. Now I remember! And what happened to those government guys?"
"You tell us," Josie said. "They were with you. Where are they now?"
"Beats the hell out of me. I thought they were with you. Well, they're gone. Have no idea where." Then he stopped, now sitting on the edge of the bed, and pointed his finger at us. "That's right! You found out I was with the CIA! My cover is blown, and they'll be back for me for sure. I got to get out of here! They'll kill me!"
"They're as confused as you are, Bates, for now," Father told him. "But when they get their bearings right, you're probably right. I guess you don't work for them anymore."
"Those fuckers are all fucked up. And they're dangerous. Boy, am I dead meat. You guys gotta help me. Josie, look, old buddy..."
Josie looked helpless. He had never seen his friend so disoriented before. Usually, it was Bates who had everything under control. Now, he seemed lost. Carlos was standing behind us, taking it all in. Now it was all coming back to him.
"Yeah! In the jungle, the helicopters, and the Indians! I remember them now. And you fired a machine gun and the helicopter blew up! Wow!"
"I feel like the past days I've been in a bad dream, like vertigo," Bates added. "Even now, but this headache is going away. Man, what a confusion!"
"I don't think we can leave him here, Father," I said. "He'll be in danger. They'll come back for him and put him away."
"In a loony bin." Bates was still holding his head. He was getting up and began looking for his shoes. His clothes looked like they had not been washed for days. Josie looked so bright and clean next to him. Father could see it too. Our minds were connected, and we both agreed on the same thing.
"Bates, you're coming with us. I don't think you are safe here, with your kind coming back for you. If you approve, we will take you with us in our ship."
Bates blinked at Paul, trying to understanding the full meaning of what he had just said. Josie helped him.
"Look, Jack. These people will not harm you. I know. I've seen their Star-ship, and more than I can explain. We've rescued the downed shuttle craft, and now we're going on another mission. Come with us."
"What would I do? You got the saucer?"
"You know the ways of your military installations. We may need your help. But no double-cross."
"Promise. Scout's honor. I'll be on my best behavior."
"Then, its a yes?"
"Look, I'm screwed here. And yeah, take me to your leader."
We all smiled at his joke, all except for Carlos. He was following as best he could, but we were using Portuguese, so he understood only in part. So his little voice asked, plaintively:
"What about me? Powell and Jim are gone. I have no one now."
Paul and Josie looked at each other, then at me. Bates also awaited an answer. So I answered with what I already knew Father was about to say:
"You come with us, Carlos. But you have to wash and put on some clean clothes. Both of you. Then meet us downstairs for a merengata."
They jumped to and were off to the showers to make ready. Josie and I looked at each other, as if to say: What are we doing? But we both broke into a smile, as did Paul. It was fate, and maybe even good luck.





Chapter 29: Wheels.


We waited for them at the nearly empty cafe downstairs. The merengata tasted cool and refreshing. Josie had a beer, which he admitted to having missed, and Father had coffee. Bates and Carlos descended, both holding small bags with their belongings. They looked sparkling clean in the clear sunlight. Carlos even had shoes on. Bates' headache had gone away. They joined us for a drink.
"Where's the machine gun?" I asked Bates in a whisper.
"Probably up with Jim in Bolivar by now. Same with the dynamite. They were planning to go mining north of the Orinoco. Mind if we take some chow, before we go?"
"We don't have much time," Father said.
"I'll make it quick."
They ordered a couple of large tortillas con quesa, and ate them on the walk back to the ship. No one seemed to pay any attention to us. As before, there were no police visible in this lawless town. But then, it was still siesta.
The ship lay low in the tall grass, and no one was about. Master opened the entryway for us. Both Carlos and Bates looked at the android with wide eyes.
"He for real?" Bates asked. Carlos remained mute.
"Hello. My name is Master. I am at your service." Master gave a slight bow.
"Nice to meet your, Master. You're the most unusual butler I ever saw." Then he gave him a smile and bowed in return. Carlos bowed too. We all entered the ship, and took our stations. Carlos and Bates took a couple of empty seats, and looked about them, dumfounded.
"This is some rig, Josie. You been flying around in one of these?"
"This and more. They come from an incredible world, Bates. We have much to learn."
"I'll say. Look at those controls. This is like Star Wars and Star Trek combined. What a rig! How fast can it go?"
"Sub light speed," Josie answered. "But faster than any of our jets. And I know how to fly it." Bates gave off a low whistle.
Master and Paul were levitating off the ground, no motion being felt aboard.
"There's the Papillon prison," Bates said, looking out the viewing port. "How come I don't feel us moving?"
"They have a different propulsion system from ours," Josie answered.
"Where's the stewardess?"
Paul smiled at him. "Master is our steward here. Want anything?"
"An aspirin. I think I'm getting my headache back."
But he was only joking. Carlos watched Master handle the controls. To him, Paul's android looked like an odd circus clown that was part robot. He did not know what to make of it all, but his young mind was adjusting easily. He had never flown before, and the view of the jungle beneath totally engrossed his attention. Then he looked up at me, remembering. I was the one who told him this was real.
"Where are we going, Maya?" he finally asked.
"We're headed for the United States of America."
"But I need a visa."
"No, you don't, son," Bates corrected him. "The way we're going there, no customs officer will ever ask you for one. Are we safe in this?"
"I've already contacted our Ship to deactivate the radar defense where we're flying. So we should be all right," Paul answered.
"No respect for Uncle Sam, huh? I'm beginning to like this."
"We're going to fly over the Caribbean," Josie explained, "and then over Texas to New Mexico. But we're doing it at near space altitude, to avoid detection.
The ship had now lifted into the upper reached of the atmosphere, where the stars shone like points of light in a purple-black sky. The Earth was a large swirling blue amid white mass of clouds and sea below. Carlos and Bates both watched through the viewing walls, taking it all in in silence. Bates thought of the astronauts. Carlos looked at the moon visible just behind the planet. The sun was a still white orb in the now black sky. Then we descended, monitors on for intercept aircraft, or missiles, but none were activated. We made for an approach over our destination on low power, to be invisible, and hovered over a brown wilderness. It stretched beautiful, empty and lonely, with trees visible only on the higher peaks. We were over the land that belonged to the Jicarilla Apache tribe in northern New Mexico. Master had spotted a lone pickup truck sitting by the side of the road, with an occupant half hanging out the side door. It was warm outside, as the weather had turned to early summer on this part of the continent. We landed behind a low hill, away from the road, and far from any human habitation. This was our point of touchdown.
When the entryway opened, a dry warm air greeted us in the mid afternoon. We had flown west from El Dorado to reach here, and lost about an hour or two of daylight. All gathered at the base of the ship, its lights dimmed, the hull glowing a dull silver. It was time to review our plan.
"Josie and I both have communicators." Paul pointed to his on his wrist that was designed to look like a large digital watch. He had used this device on his Earth-walk and it proved useful without arousing suspicion. "We're going into town to reconnoiter. The town is on Apache land and is called Dulce. I want to know how well guarded the place is. I think we should spend the night there, and proceed early for our destination, before dawn. Master will lift off, and monitor our activity. Any danger, and he'll pick us up in a flash. Those are his instructions. He will monitor through the Ship's equipment for radar and war planes. He will also stand by if we need him for other reasons. Our mission is to go into the installation and retrieve the mechanical device taken from the downed Ebh'an ship. Then we get out. That is all we can know for now. The rest will depend on circumstances."
"How you going to get into that installation?" Bates wanted to know.
"After we assess the locale, we're driving in through a secret road that goes off the government park land to the west. There is a logging road that would take us to the landing site, and the elevator entrance."
"Elevator?" Bates asked.
"The installation is about a kilometer beneath the mesa. It is top secret, and even the Apache's don't know about it. But it is well guarded. So we will need the hypno-machines given us by the Ebh'ans to gain entry."
Carlos was following some of this in his mind. Even a few minutes in the Light of the ship had sharpened his telepathic ability. All have it, but on Earth it is mostly dormant. Now his was awake, and he followed most of everything Paul said.
"Why is this place so deep in the ground?" he asked.
"Because no one is supposed to know it is there. It was built in case of nuclear war, and designed to withstand an atomic blast," Father answered. Then Bates added, in Portuguese:
"Kid. What you are going to see, nobody sees. Even I never saw. That's if we ever get to see it."
"Relax, Bates. These people know what they're doing," Josie countered, jokingly.
Bates nodded in approval.
"It was designed, I guess, to shield the top brass in the event of war. But no one is supposed to know about it." Then he added with irony: "Welcome to my country, America the beautiful, land of the free."
"It is beautiful," Carlos said, looking around at the semi-arid landscape, "but very different from the jungle."
"Now. There is a reason Master landed us here. We will need that truck parked behind that hill. Let's go and scout it out. Those are the wheels we'll need for the next day or two."
"How do you know?" Bates wanted to know.
"The Dreamers," Josie answered.
Bates shook his head, not knowing how to take Josie's remark, but he was eager to engage in taking over the truck. Not having weapons, save for the mysterious hand held tools Paul and Josie carried, he could not imagine how we were going to take over a top secret military installation, that no doubt was very well guarded. But his headache was completely gone now, with the help of the Light aboard ship. And his spirits had risen in accordance. He was back in his world and, though officially an outlaw, he was eager for adventure.
It was hard to read from his mind what he thought of himself flying aboard an alien ship. He had just flown where few Earth humans have ever been, and to get there took incredible efforts on the part of their scientists and at great expense. Here, they flew about as if they had hailed a taxi and asked to fly through sub-space to another continent, all in a matter of minutes. It must have been a mind boggling experience to him. But his agile mind seemed to take it all very well. It was the same for Carlos. He felt as if he was meant to do this, that in some strange way he was born to this, that it was his destiny. And, frankly, I could not argue that it was not. There was a reason we all met, and a reason we all came together on this last leg of our mission on Earth. The same happened to Josie, shortly after he came aboard. I found all this interesting, because I wanted to know how the people of Earth would respond to meeting us, as someday they all would. But with the help of the Light, and with the help of the Dream, they seemed to easily assimilate our existence, once exposed to it. It was as if we were all brothers and sisters, or at least distant cousins, or children of the same family who long ago were separated. Maybe this was why the Unity had invited Ka'ananda to be the first Contact with this awakening world. Or maybe it was because of the Fallah'Ans. Or maybe it was because of something much older and greater, something we still could not understand. But then, the awakening of a world is always a unique and individual experience, much as each one of us is individual and unique. It felt good to be here.
Master again closed the entryway, and we all stealthily made our way to the hill that hid us from the truck. Paul and Josie were in the lead, Bates behind them. Carlos and I lingered behind, taking in all the strange and wonderful desert plants around us. The ground was soft and dry, like a crunchy powder, with small tracks imprinted on it by whatever animals had passed through here before. But they must have been very shy, as none made their presence known. The sky was a deep blue, more so than in the jungle, and the sun hot on our backs and heads. Bates was wearing his loose broad brimmed hat, but the rest of us were hatless. We all carried water bottles, which held a fortified restorative liquid, and a pouch on our belts with survival instruments and nutrient packets. Those had been provided to us by Master. We were nearing the top of the hill and looked down over the edge, remaining hidden from view. The pickup was waiting below.



Chapter 30: "Yata-hey!"

"Olah!" Father called when he got closer to the truck. Then realizing the man was not Spanish, he called: "Yata-hey!" in the way of an Indian greeting. The man looked up from where he was hanging onto the truck door. His eyes focussed on us, trying to understand where we came from. Seeing we carried no guns and were no danger to him, he managed a weak smile.
"I don't feel so good." He rolled himself back into the cab of the truck and stared at us a while, still trying to understand why we were walking on this deserted piece of road. The truck's door, red, a color different from the rest of the vehicle, which was blue and in poor condition, dented and dusty, remained open. He managed a wave of his hand. We approached closer.
"Can you give us a ride into town?" Paul asked.
"I can't drive too well. Had a bad night." He looked up at us with sad blood shot eyes, as if they were expressing some deep regret. "Can you drive me into town?"
When we got closer, we saw empty bottles littered on the front seat. The cab smelled of cheap alcohol. The man had too much to drink, and now was solemn over his self degraded state, almost apologetic for it. Josie went around to the other side of the truck, to see if the man had any weapons. None were evident. Bates stayed with Carlos and me. Then Father spoke:
"Look brother, we'll take you into town. But we are strangers here and will need a guide. We can pay well. You mind helping us out?"
The man's eyes rolled over to the speaker and fixed him in an unsteady gaze.
"How much you paying?"
"A hundred a day. For the use of your truck. A hundred for your help."
The Indian managed a smile. Surely, this was a gift he could not refuse.
"I'll take the hundred for the truck. It needs new brakes. But I won't take the hundred for me. You help me out, then I help you. That'll be fair."
His dark brown cowboy hat sat back on his head, and it fell off when he leaned back in the cab, taking a deep breath. His large brown face smiled beneath a head of thick black hair. He was a big man. Then he nodded okay and stepped out of the truck, but this effort almost cost him his balance, and he steadied himself against the open door.
Father reached into his pouch and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill, which he handed to the man. The man took it in his large hand and carefully folded it into his shirt pocket. Then he went over to a large rock and put his hands on it, followed by a loud retching sound as he disgorged some of last night's liquor still in his belly. When he was done, he stood up, feeling better, and proceeded to relieve himself of urine. He then walked back more steadily to the passenger's side of the truck.
"I'd better sit by the window," was all he said. Even in his unhappy state, he still had a commanding presence about him, like he was used to having authority. Carlos looked at him with sympathy, as did Josie. Bates was studying him, trying to figure how he could be of any help to us. Paul took the seat behind the wheel, and Josie sat next to him, the Indian by the other window. The rest of us climbed into the back of the truck and sat down on its hard metal surface. It was hot.
Father knew how to drive, as he had driven vehicles of this kind on many occasions. He started the engine, which coughed a belch, and then began running smoothly with a low rumble. The gears were engaged and we began moving forward with a jerk. Bates smiled at me, as if to say, not like your ships, is it? In moments, we were rolling down a dirt road towards the paved road that led into town. Slowing to turn, the truck's brakes gave off a shrill screech.
"What are your names?" the man asked. We had reached the smooth road, which was easier on our sitting down on the hard surface. I could hear them in my head. "My name is Roy." Paul and Josie introduced themselves, and then told Roy our names in the back. "So what are you doing here?" He had begun feeling better, after a morning of sleeping in the truck, now that the moving air was blowing on his face. "You some sort of surveilling party?"
"We're something like that. We got dropped off earlier, but our pick up took off and didn't show up. So we thought we'd ask you for a lift."
Father was telling him a truth, of sorts.
"You're not with the government, are you?"
"How do you mean, Roy?" Paul was curious of the question. "You mean with the Indian Bureau?" he ventured, trying to avert the question.
"No. I know everybody with the Indian Bureau. I'm on the tribal council. I mean like the officers who have been travelling through town." Then he added as an afterthought: "But I guess not, not with the kids."
"The children are here to study the environment. We are their teachers." Father gave out a mental command to Roy that it was all right, and that we were no danger to him. Roy seemed to relax then, his inner questioning taking a different turn. But he remained silent.
After we had driven a ways, Josie asked Roy:
"What do you do on the tribal council?"
"I'm a chief. That's why I asked if you were with the government. We talked about it at the last council. Too many strangers in town makes us ask questions." Then he spoke more to himself. "God, I hate this drink."
"Why did you drink so much?" Josie asked him.
"I don't know. It's nice at first. Then it becomes a curse. Now I am cursed. So that's why you find me out there. I'm always trying to run away, maybe from myself."
Another long silence followed as we drove down the road past hills and mountains that stretched endlessly into the shimmering horizon. Carlos and Bates sat silent, watching the land around them. The moving air made the heat more comfortable. But Roy's discomfort made me uncomfortable too, smelling the occasional scent of the truck's exhaust. I was trying not to let the motion get to my stomach.
"What are the government men doing here?" Father asked, after a long silence.
"New faces all the time. Then they go away. I don't know where they go and where they come from." Roy was getting to feel better by the minute. "We call them the pinched ones." He gave off a short laugh.
"Why pinched ones?" Father asked.
"Because all their faces have this pinched look, like somebody put a clothes pin on their lips. They have this cold nervous stare and rarely talk to anyone. That's why we call them the pinched ones."
"That's why we're here too. You see," Father started saying, "we're doing an environmental impact study on what they are doing here. So we need to know more about them. But we can't find out by just coming out and asking them. So we are studying the area. That's why we're here to check up on their activities."
"What activities?" Roy wanted to know.
"We think they're planning to build a landing field here, to test new top secret air planes. But they may be damaging the environment. So they must be held accountable."
I knew Paul was laying seeds in Roy's mind to relay this to the tribal council, so they could resist future government encroachment on their land. But he was still holding to this side of the truth, if only barely. Then he asked another question:
"See any strange lights around here at night?"
"Sure. We see them all the time. The old people think they are spirits."
"What do you think, Roy?"
"I don't know what to think. Maybe they're just airplanes. But they always come from the direction of the mesa behind the town. Is there something going on there?"
"That's what we want to find out. You want to help us?"
"Sure! I'll help you. But I don't know what they are."
We had come to a stop sign, slowed to a stop amid loud screeching, and then took the road that went to the right. Houses were visible now, as we were approaching a habitated area. Bates and Carlos were talking amongst themselves, going over their trip in the shuttle craft. Their minds had become more at ease now, being on more familiar ground, though for Carlos being in America was totally new. It was the same for Josie, but he did not seem to be affected by this. His mind was too intent on where we were going, and on how to approach the secret installation we needed to penetrate. Roy was giving him an idea.
"How would you like to see those lights from up close?" He said this in nearly perfect English, having brushed up aboard Ship.
"You mean hike into the mesa?"
"Yeah. How about if we spent the night in there? Then we could better see what's going on. You know the area?"
"Sure. I've been hunting up there for years. But I never saw anything, except the lights. There are no people there. Most of the Apache people are afraid to go back there."
"Because of the lights?"
"No, the spirits. The place is haunted."
"You afraid?"
"Naah. That's superstition. I'm educated. I don't believe in ghosts."
He gave a laugh, then continued. "But first I gotta tell my woman I'm going out for the night."
We drove into town. Small wooden houses were scattered about like they had been built without planning. We pulled into a gas station, as the gas tank was low, and Paul paid for a fill up. Roy went into the store and came out with bottles of orange juice. He grinned at us. "Broke the hundred." We all took the drinks gratefully. It was a hot afternoon, and dry. I could tell Roy was beginning to like us. As we were ready to pull out, a dark vehicle pulled in for gas.
"That's what I was talking about," said Roy in a whisper. "The pinched ones."
Men got out, youngish men in loose fitting tan colored clothing. They could have been workmen, their uniforms not so different from the way Bates was dressed. But they never looked at us. Roy gave us a wink as he passed the back of the truck to get into his side of the truck. We then drove to Roy's house.
On Roy's directions, Paul pulled into the dry dirt driveway and stopped at the house. Roy's woman recognized the squeal of the brakes and came out.
"Where've you been?!" she hollered at him. She was a thin woman, small and tough. Roy looked instantly sheepish, his chief's bearing suddenly reduced to that of a small boy.
"I was out with some friends. I'm okay. You all right?"
"I was worried half to death. You got killed somewhere in that lousy truck of yours. When you gonna fix them brakes?"
"I'll do it this week. I made some money. You got any food?"
She eyed us all wearily. Then waved that we should come in, and disappeared into the house. The house was at the end of a road, beneath the large mesa behind the town. There were no other houses immediately nearby, though we passed many on the way, where children played outside. The children had stopped their play and watched us drive by, curious as to who we were. There were none here. But they knew Roy, so it was okay.
We stepped inside the cool house. There was a large tree overhanging the roof which cast a shadow on the place. Inside was bare and tidy, only a table and four chairs, with a large bed set in the corner. It was a large, one room house with a small kitchen and a couple of doors, which led to a bathroom and closet. Everything of possession was either in the closet or on open shelves. There was a curtain over one of the shelves, but none on the windows. A small television sat on a stool in the corner. Roy introduced us to his wife, as we all sat down at the table. He had to pull up another couple of chairs which he got in from outside. His wife remained standing. Her name was Birdie.
Bowls of stew were brought out for us. It had a pleasant, strong meaty smell. Birdie was now more friendly to us, and wanted to know who we were and where from. Roy, who was a few years older than she, explained what he knew. They looked good together, if mismatched in size. Both had a youngish face, and dark brown eyes. Her hair was finer, and her features more refined. She was an attractive woman, and much thinner than the other women I had seen here so far. Some were very fat. Birdie offered us bread, which we dipped in the stew. Bates and the others offered their thanks and dipped into their bowls with hardy appetites. Paul and I only picked at ours, as it was impolite to refuse food. But as we did not eat meat, it was difficult to swallow, though I would have not minded barbecued chicken. I slipped my bowl to Carlos when he finished and took his in exchange. He accepted the furtive switch gladly.
"We're going hunting tonight, Birdie. I'm taking my rifle. My friends are going to stay overnite up in the mesas. You want to come?"
"No. I'll stay. But bring back a big buck. We're running low on good meat." She fetched the large rifle from the shelf with the curtain over it and brought it to Roy. "I cleaned it for you. The children going with you too?" She looked at us, as if to disapprove of our being out all night."
"They're prepared to rough it," Father told her. "They've camped before."
"Where's your camping equipment?" Birdie asked.
"We'll sleep under the stars. We'll be okay."
Bates got up to use the bathroom.
"Ma'am, that was delicious. Thank you. Mind if I use your bathroom?" She nodded in its direction. He closed the door behind him. Roy picked up his rifle and a box of cartridges.
"This old thirty-0-six has served me well. I'll see what we could bring down tonight." He was getting a sleeping roll ready. In his mind, I could tell he thought we were crazy to go out into the mountains without a sleeping roll, but then he left it up to us to fend for ourselves. He was going to be comfortable, and he knew how cold the nights could be.
After our thanks, when we all got into the truck and pulled out onto the main road, the truck came to a loud screech at a stop. Roy was driving now, once again in command of his vehicle, Paul and I in the front, and the others on the truck bed. When the screech died, another loud sound followed, like a howling high pitched wail. There were lights flashing from behind us. We had been stopped by a patrol car of the tribal police. Roy suddenly looked nervous. He started to reach for his glove compartment to get out something.
"Well, Roy!" the officer came up to him. She was a small, attractive woman. "When you're gonna fix those brakes? I don't want you running over children and dogs," she said smiling. Roy became more relaxed. He was fully sober now and he had broken no traffic laws, that he knew of.
"Hi, Mary. I wasn't speeding, was I?"
"No. I just stopped you to remind you Jimmy wants you at the tribal meeting Saturday. Should I tell him you'll come?"
"Yeah. Tell the police chief I'll be there."
"Where you going?" She was eyeing us all in the truck. We seemed a most unlikely collection of cargo.
Father instantly flashed a suggestion to Roy.
"Taking some tourists to visit the reservation. They've never been here before, and want to see how we live. Just had dinner, so now we're going out to watch the sun set up on the mesa. They're okay." Roy grinned at her, as did Bates and Josie in the back. The officer had some suspicion run through her mind, looking at Roy's rifle, but he saw her and answered: "Bears." She nodded in agreement.
"Well, you watch yourself. When I'm off duty, I'll go and visit with Birdie. We've got a game of cards going that won't quit." She smiled at him and waved us on. Roy drove away, letting out his breath slowly. He wanted to know who was winning, but he dared not ask.
"Things aren't like they used to be. Now they got female cops. Can you believe it?"
We drove out of town heading west.





Chapter 31: The Tunnel.

We drove into the late afternoon light, the sun setting lower in the sky. Roy turned on his radio. It was set to a country music station. The whining music reminded me of Queenie and her guitar. A man's voice was singing about swinging, with a woman, she was the apple of his eye, accompanied by guitars and drums. Roy was swinging to the music. We drove steadily, not having to stop, which was easier on the ears. After some distance, we turned into a dirt road that led north. It was now on National Forest land, as the sign indicated, and we drove for another ten minutes past a large ranch, and then up a road that took us to the top of a mesa with beautiful views of the mountains stretching into the northern distance. They were the Rockies, and their tops where white with snow. The sky was clear and the evening air fragrant and pleasant. Coming down hills, some with shear drop offs from the road, Roy down shifted to not disturb the wilderness with his noisy breaks. In about a half hour more, we had reached a plateau where the road forked to the left. We had passed many other trucks on this road, some new and shiny, not like Roy's, with one or two men inside. A couple of trucks had no license plates, which we all noticed and mentioned to each other that it was curious. But there were natural gas wells in the area, and it seemed these trucks belonged to the crews who manned these installations. We turned right at the fork and came to another plateau that overlooked the Apache reservation. Roy stopped his truck off the road.
"This is the road you talked about, Paul?"
"Yes. This is the road we're looking for."
Father was studying it, looking east towards the mountains, to assess its condition. The road looked well kept but, mysteriously, it was blocked off with large earth moguls. We all got out of the truck and hiked down to where the barbed wire fence marked the reservation. A sign forbade access by the order of the Apache Tribal Council.
"I don't know anything about this order," Roy volunteered. "It must have happened before I became chief. But it would be very hard to get the truck past those earth dams. Still, I think we could do it."
"Then let's camp at the truck."
The sun had begun to set and the air got suddenly cooler. Bates and Josie gathered up some fallen dead branches and built a fire. A pleasant smell rose from the flames that reminded me of incense. We were well off the main road, and no one seemed to come this way. As darkness fell over a burgundy sky, the forest around us grew quiet, and the air suddenly cold. So unlike the jungle, Carlos and I thought. There, just the opposite happened. Night brought to life all the jungle noises, loud with frogs, and it remained warm. Here, it was a great silence.
"Any of you bring any food?" Roy wanted to know.
We told him we did. He was glad and got from his truck a small coffee pot, which he filled with water from a large plastic jug, and then added some coffee grinds. The pot was placed over two rocks in the fire, balanced precariously. He also had cups, made of metal, which he placed before us in the dwindling twighlight. The stars had begun to make their appearance in the clear sky. We reached into our travel pouches and retrieved out nutrient bars. I offered one to Roy.
"What's this, chocolate?"
"No. They're special nutrition bars. Try one. I think you'll like it."
He bit into one, after removing the wrapper, and expected to find the taste of candy. Rather, he was surprised by the taste of what seemed to be a delicious, fruity tasting starchy filler. It gives one instant energy, and he remarked on that. He smiled at me in thanks. He liked our food, small that it was. But it filled him quickly.
Josie and Roy had some coffee, as did Paul. Carlos and I took a swallow from our water bottles, which gave us a warm feeling inside.
As the night darkened, and it was late, we made ready for sleep. Roy got his bed roll and placed it near the fire. He looked at us sympathetically, as we appeared to have nothing to protect us from the night cold. Even Bates and Carlos were debating as to whether to sleep inside the truck. But Josie reached into his pouch and took a small package, which he unfurled into a large thin sheet. He wrapped himself in this, and lay down near the fire.
"That's going to keep you warm?" Roy asked in disbelief.
"It's a new space age material that works miracles. I'll be quite warm," confided Josie. Carlos and Bates took out theirs and likewise curled up inside. They were amazed at how quickly they warmed up.
"Pretty good, huh?" Bates asked of Carlos.
"This really works!"
We all lay down on the soft grass, warm in our blankets. Finally, Roy could not stand it any longer.
"Can I try it?"
He took Paul's blanket and wrapped himself in it.
"You're right! This is really warm. Where'd you get it? Must be in one of those fancy sporting good catalogs, right?"
"It's not yet available in stores."
"Oh? Like the ghinsu knife. It slices, it dices..." he was mimicking something he had seen on television.
We all lay down again, watching the stars. It had been a long and event packed day for all of us, so sleep came easily. The night was still, no wind, and quiet, except for the crackling of the fire.
In about an hour, we were woken by the loud sound of helicopters, their lights flashing in the distance. They passed to the north of us over a canyon and headed for the mysterious mountain that was our destination. Then they disappeared over the nearby hills. We went back to sleep.
Around midnight, I woke when I heard the sound of a distant truck, its engine whining in low gear up a hill. I could see its headlight. By now the fire had died down to red coals. The lights did not turn left, as did most of the other trucks. This was a busy road, I thought. It came towards us instead. I woke the others. As we lifted sleepily from our blankets, the lights headed straight for us. It came at a stop a short distance off, headlights on us. A door opened, then another. Two men came over to us.
When they came closer, we could see them by the headlights. They were perhaps in their thirties, dressed in the same light brown fatigues we saw earlier at the gas station. They greeted us casually.
"You all right?" one of them asked.
"Sure. We're fine," answered Roy. "Just camping out for the night. Hunting first light tomorrow."
The two men looked at our strange space blankets. Then the other said:
"You can't camp here."
"You can camp in the National Forest," Roy protested.
"Not here. You're too far off the road. You're on Government land."
There seemed to be no point in arguing with them. They had no insignia of authority, but their tone was authoritative. Though Roy whispered to himself that this was all his land. So we expressed regret and began collecting our things to get back into the truck. Roy covered up the hot coals with soil. The men watched us do this, and when they were satisfied we were leaving, got back into their truck and turned it around.
"It has no license plate," I whispered to Paul.
"That's right, love. This is very strange."
What Father meant was that we were on the right track. There was something mysterious about the place, and we were not welcome here. But it was best to not arouse suspicion on ourselves. So we did as told.
All of us piled into the cab now, as it had gotten cold. Carlos sat on Josie's knees, as I sat on Paul's. Bates was crushed against the door. It was tight. We all talked about the men who ordered us to leave, and the helicopters.
"So now you see, Roy. Something is going on here," Father said.
"I know they're wrong about camping here. And they weren't park rangers, either. Something is fishy here," Roy agreed. "But I know of another way to get to that road. And there they can't tell us to leave."
We finally swung back onto the highway and drove back towards Dulce. But where the road branches off to the right, Roy took a left onto a dirt road that took us deeper into the reservation. There were no houses here, only the solitary wilderness, and the bright stars of the Galaxy overhead.
Roy knew the land of his small nation, and he easily maneuvered the poorly kept track into the low mountains ahead. By now the moon had risen, so we had a better view of the surrounding land. It had grown very quiet in the cab, so Roy fished around his feet until he found a basket with tapes in it. He held one up and peered at it in the dark. It was what he wanted, and he popped it into the cassette player in the truck's radio.
In a moment, strange chanting came on at low volume. It was accompanied by a steady drum beat. Father knew it to be Indian chanting, and Roy's mind fell into a peacefulness at its sound. The rest of us listened quietly, not speaking our thoughts, as if we would somehow disturb the singing. The night which had closed in around our headlights seemed alive now with this strange and beautiful sound. The engine's whine almost synched with the singers. It sounded like a mournful song, of long ago, of when these proud people roamed the land at will, living off its bountiful game, long before they were forced to live their lives in an alien culture. There was a statement of freedom in it, and of the love of the land and, though life was hard, of a joy for living. But they were gone now, those long ago singers, their voices carried on by new generations who had mostly forgotten what their ancestors knew. The darkness around us felt almost alive with their presence, those of long ago, telling us through their descendants' singing of their hardship, of their wars, and of starvation. They were forced to flee the land they loved so much to move to land that was assigned to them and, though they had adjusted to this, there was deep sorrow, even now. The singing pressed on my heart as if I could hear the wail of all their voices, all those who died, and the sadness that the end of their ancestral ways brought them. They were calling for a return of the old ways, when the heart was pure and a man's courage was a mark of his worth. They were all around us, in the dark, their voices strong in my head. But it was only the engine, and my mind released me from the terrible sadness that had overtaken me. I looked at Bates against the window, and there was sorrow on his face. He heard it too. Then I looked at Roy. He was driving on steadily, knowing where he was going, and where he was from, his impassive features not betraying what he was feeling inside. Maybe it was not just the engine. There was something here in the land, something that could never be taken away.
Then the road played out. We had come to a tee, where a road came in from the west. This road was dirt also, but better kept. Roy expressed approval at finding it. We had come to the same logging road we had seen from the mesa.
By now it was the early hours of the morning. We turned right and began ascending towards the dark mesa ahead. Paul had a suggestion.
"How far to the mesa, Roy?"
"About three miles. We're pretty close now." The music had stopped and the tape retracted automatically. Roy shut off the static coming from the radio.
"Can you see without your lights?"
Roy shut off the headlights, and our eyes adjusted to the darkness. But the moon offered enough light to drive by, if one knew the road. We proceeded more slowly up the road. But as we crested, our brakes gave off a squeal. We were now less than two miles, or three kilometers, away.
"We'd better pull off here," Father suggested. "We could walk the rest of the way." Roy and the others agreed. We were getting too close for the noisy brakes.
We all got out of the cab, grateful to exit our tight quarters, and Roy pulled his truck off the road. As we did not bring heavy clothing, we pulled out our blankets and wrapped in these to ward off the night cold. Now we looked like strange, silvery silhouettes in the moonlit night. Our little party began walking briskly toward the mesa. Roy had his rifle with him.
"If anybody sees us," joked Roy, "they'll think we're ghosts." "If anybody sees us," added Bates, "we're in trouble."
There were no lights in the still sky, save for the stars and moon. No helicopters flew overhead. But as we got closer to the mountain, a low hum began entering our ears. Father and I looked at each other, both with the same question in our minds. But the others were not yet sensitive to it, so we walked in silence. Cresting another hill, we could now clearly see the large mesa by moonlight. There was no activity that we could spot, but the hum was getting louder. Now even Josie could hear it.
"What do you think it is? Sounds like some sort of engine far off."
"I don't know, Josie," Father answered. "But Maya and I heard it earlier. But there is nothing visible ahead."
But there was something visible. In the distance, through the trees, we could see yellow lights. As we got closer, we all could see clearly now that they hugged the side of a hill.
"They're not supposed to be there," Roy explained. "This is all wilderness. And we're still miles from town. What in the hell are they?"
"Well, they're not ghosts," Bates answered. "There's activity there."
We crept more slowly now, alert to the possibility of danger. Carlos, instinctively, came over to my side, as if for protection. I put my arm around him. We stealthily moved closer, to have a better look. Then all of a sudden, all the lights went out.
"We must have tripped a sensor," Bates said. "They'll be here to investigate in no time."
Sure enough, within minutes, a helicopter left the side of the hill where the lights were and began moving towards us, search lights on.
"Let's make it like the deer!" Roy yelled to us in a loud whisper. "Hide in the underbrush, and take off those metallic blankets. They'll spot those quick."
"It's action time, guys!" Josie agreed. The blankets went back into the pouches, and we all broke into a run into the underbrush, where we crouched very still, hiding like deer.
The helicopter flew noisily overhead, its bright spots lighting up the underbrush overhead, but it passed us. Then it was making a turn for another look. The search lights went off.
"Put the blankets back on," Paul ordered in a low voice. "They may have infrared, and see our body heat. The blankets will shield us."
We quickly covered ourselves again before the copter flew overhead. Paul wrapped both Roy and himself in his. We stayed still. The copter flew by, but continued without hovering. We had not been spotted. Either way, they had not picked up our presence. When it landed, we felt more at ease, and again regrouped to continue towards the mountain.
We finally came to a perimeter fence. It was a tall fence with razor sharp twisted metal at the top. Wiring betrayed the fence was electrified.
"What do we do now?" Roy asked of us.
"Looks like we have a serious obstacle," Josie answered.
Father remained quiet, thinking of the situation. We could see clearly that the hill ahead of us had activity on it once again. There was a heliport, and openings in the side of the mountain. That was where the lights came from. Men were visible in the distance, obviously readying for some event.
"It's not us they're after," Paul said finally. "They look like they're preparing for something."
Bates was studying the land, and the fence. Then he had an idea.
"What else have we got in these pouches? Anything I could cut wire with? I know how to deactivate this fence without tripping their sensors. Complements of Uncle Sam's CIA training."
"Go for it," Paul answered. "Use the utility knife. It has a tool for cutting metal. I'll show you."
Father reached into his pouch and pulled out the utility knife. Then he showed Bates its various uses. There was a small tool that lasered through metal, or anything else. Bates thought it would work.
"But I'll need insulation. How good are the blankets?"
"They'll stop an electrical charge."
"Then let me go first. The rest of you stay hidden."
Bates crouched and crawled towards the fence, towards where the trees would obstruct visibility from the other side. After a short while, he returned the same way.
"I stood on the blanket, doubled over just in case, and it worked. Didn't feel a thing. If I had, I'd be fried chicken now." Bates gave us a grin. "But the opening is small, so I'll have to have one of the kids go through it, and then resplice the wires on the other side. Carlos, you can do it. Here's what you have to do."
He explained in Spanish to Carlos, who understood. They both crawled back to the fence. Then they signalled for us to come forward. He lowered his hands to remind us to crawl. We did and came up besides them.
"Okay. The fence is taken care of at this point. The opening is now wide enough for all of us. After we crawl through, let's leave something behind, incase we have to come this way again, so we could find it."
"We don't have to, Bates." I said. "I'll leave a mental message here, so I could home in on it later. Paul could too." Roy looked strangely at me.
"Good idea, Maya." Father knew what I was talking about. The others accepted it on trust. We did not want to leave anything behind the soldiers could find. We assumed there were soldiers at the installation.
As we got closer, crawling on our bellies on the cold ground, our assumption was right. There were sentry posted near the openings into the mountain.
"We're past the main sensor now," Bates explained. "So we only have to worry about those guys over there. But they shoot, so we must be very quiet." He delivered this in a low whisper.
Josie pulled out the hypno-machine and held it in his palm. Father did the same. The machines were miniaturized for this purpose and looked like a small radio. Roy did not know what it was we had, but he asked no questions. He assumed they were some sort of electrical stun gun.
We crept closer to the nearest sentry, very slowly. When we got within range, Josie who was ahead, aimed the Ebh'an stun machine at the soldier. He looked startled for a moment, then very slowly sat down, holding his weapon on his lap. Josie and Bates gave each other a look, and Father smiled. It worked beautifully. Roy looked over to us as if to ask: 'Where you guys from, Mission Impossible?' He had never seen anything like it, so his reference was only to what he had seen on television. Now he was in the presence of people with impossible powers. He did not know what to think of us. But he liked us and did not question it.
We crawled past the first guard and did the same for the second. They both were now sitting still, a passive look on their faces. Bates instinctively grabbed one of the soldiers rifles. It was an automatic weapon, much like a machine gun. No alarm had been sent, so we made it for the large opening in the side of the mountain.
The place was well lit, but deserted. Whatever was happening was on the inside, not out here. Paul spoke into his communicator:
"We're entering the installation, Master. Mark our coordinates and check our progress. Standby to recover the party on my signal."
"Understood."
Bates was now ahead of us, entering the large tunnel. He was scouting for cameras, two of which he found at twenty meter intervals on the right wall. But they were still, so maybe were not activated at the time. He crouched against that wall and reached up his full length to put some tape on the lense. Then he did the same for the other.
"They'll think its a malfunction," he grinned back at us. We all crouched forward to catch up with him, at a low run. The lights overhead shone bright and yellow down on us. The hum we heard earlier was now all around us. It was not so different from the hum from one of our shuttle crafts. But that was not possible. Earth had no such technology. We reached a doorway, which was open, and all ducked inside. Roy held his rifle ahead of him as if he were holding an assault weapon. Bates did the same with his. Carlos stayed close to me. Then the tunnel emitted a solid clang, and there was a distant sound of a large motor. We looked down the tunnel and could see the wall at the end of it lifting slowly overhead. It was a large metal door being opened. We ducked back into the doorway again. There were stairs leading to the top. But there was no one present. We closed the steel stairwell door part way and stayed hid, waiting for whatever was going to happen. We were again all pressed against each other, as there was not much room in our hiding place. Then we saw it.
When the large door had pulled into its overhead position, a brilliant light came from the end of the tunnel. Not daring to look out, we waited, huddled together. Then the hum got louder, as if a large engine had been engaged. The light came closer, moving slowly, followed by the now unmistakable chorus of the engines. The hum now totally filled our heads. We stayed back. But as it passed us, we knew what we had stumbled into. A long, cigar shaped vessel moved past us in the tunnel, its lights flashing a blinding bluish green red. It did not look like any ship I had ever seen before. This one was of Earth's making, and suddenly all understood. This was the secret that was being kept here so well. Earth's government had duplicated one of our propulsion systems, and this one was being tested, as it had no doubt been tested many times before. Now this craft exited the tunnel and took off into the atmosphere in a flash of rainbows.
"So these are the flashing lights we see..." Roy spoke in hushed awe.
Paul answered the question on everyone's mind:
"The Ebh'ans... What do we do now?"







Chapter 32: First Light.


Heavy booted footsteps were heard coming down the stairs above us. They sounded hurried, running.
"Soldiers! They spotted the cameras aren't working!" Bates cried out. "We got to get out of here!"
There were only two choices left to us, as we could not meet the soldiers head on. Either exit the tunnel and retreat out of the compound, or head for the large metal door where the ship was stored. They would expect us to flee the installation, so would be waiting to capture us outside. The ones coming down the stairs were meant to cut off our retreat. But the ship would no doubt soon return this way as well, back to its secret base. Most likely they only had one prototype ship. We had only one choice left. We all agreed that our mission was incomplete, and we would have to abort it if we left now. This was all done almost instantaneously through Paul's mind. So we ran for the metal door. Roy ran with us, not knowing what else to do.
We covered the distance before the guards reached the tunnel, and immediately ducked to either side of the large door. Josie was with Paul and me. Carlos and Bates and Roy were on the other side.
"Look for a manual control!" Bates hissed at us. He was looking for one as well.
"This large red button?" Josie answered him.
"Yeah. That's it. Press it, quick!"
Josie did, and the large metal door began descending. We waited in anticipation, hoping it would hurry, as the soldiers had now reached the tunnel floor. But they made for the exit instead, assuming the door was closing for security reasons, as it was supposed to. They never suspected we would be on the other side.
"Master, show us the interior map."
A holographic light suddenly materialized before us, showing chambers and corridors in three dimensions, suspended in mid air. Roy's jaw dropped. Now this was really more than he could accept easily. We were from some strange 'Mission Impossible' agency, indeed, he thought.
"Bates. What do you make of this?" Father asked.
"Means nothing to me." He was not overly surprised by this technology, as he had been aboard ship. Carlos was fascinated, forgetting for a moment his fear.
"Okay. This is an Ebh'an map," Father explained hurriedly. "They were at one time in contact with the American government, and they may have been involved with the building of this installation, in an information exchange. But how in the world did the scientists here figure out our propulsion system?" Then aside to Bates. "Keep watch, and see if any other cameras are here."
He took off, then taped another camera high up on the second landing. There were metal walkways overhead that led to doorways and corridors.
He came back.
"Where the hell is everybody?" Bates wanted to know.
"This is a very highly secret installation, so personnel must be kept at a minimum, for fear of security leaks," Father answered.
"Well, it worked. Nobody knows of this place. It's got to blow. They have no right..."
"I agree. But the experimental ship is not here, and no point in destroying the place without it inside. Got any ideas?"
"Let's wait until it returns. Then we could blow it all up. But how?"
"There's only one way," I answered. "We have to overload the on board crystal power capacitors. That's the only way we could totally destroy the ship, and all the evidence with it."
Roy looked at me, shaking his head. Even our language was now strange. He was not so sure he should be on our side. We could be spies.
I telepathically told him we were not spies. But that this installation is very dangerous to his country, as it would tip the balance of power very unfavorably in this world. And it could go into the hands of those most desperate for power. He understood instantly. It was not a question of empowering the government. It was a question of disempowering the people of this country, and maybe the world. It was their freedom that was now at stake.
"Master. Show us the location of the Ebh'an communicator. That's all we can focus on for now."
The map flashed back on and the location of the communicator was marked as a red point.
"Bates, can we find it?"
"Looks easy. Let's go!"
We made for the metal stairway that led out of the holding area and quickly scrambled onto the upper gangway. The map directed us through a door, but this was locked.
"Oh, shit! We need an access code."
"No, we don't," Josie countered Bates's remark. "Use your utility knife's laser."
"Right!"
They both set their laser beams onto the lock mechanism. It melted into a round hole, the metal dripping in hot splashes to the floor. With a strong heave, the door gave, and we ran through. Two armed men greeted us at the other side, their weapons pointed at us. We were caught.
They silently came over to us, holding us at gun point, and one ordered Roy and Josie to drop their weapons, which they did. Then the other pulled out his hand radio and alerted command that we were captured. As he was doing this, Father activated his hypno-machine. The guard stopped talking, a joyful look taking hold of his features. I wondered what the Ebh'ans had programmed into it. The other guard looked over, his attention momentarily averted, when Josie grabbed his gun and set its but up against his chin. The guard fell over backwards heavily. The other guard just stood quietly, and then sat down with a thud. Josie gave his weapon to Paul and then grabbed the other. One way or another, we were going to get out of here.
"Down that corridor and to the left is the room on the map," Paul quickly advised. "Let's make for it, before the others come."
"They're already here!" Carlos yelled.
We wheeled to where he was pointing, and saw the men coming through the large metal door as it swung open. They had searched outside and now got word we were in here.
"Shit! I wish I had the dynamite," Bates cursed.
Roy was now staying close behind, not sure of what we were going to do next, or what strange magic was coming out of our pouches. He even assumed the plastic tape was some magic. But it was something Bates had on him, to gag prisoners, or for bandages. We ran for the door marked on the map. We hit it, it swung open, but the place was unguarded.
"Where the hell is everybody!" Josie yelled to no one.
"I think they're all in some control room. Look, more cameras," I said.
This time, secrecy was no longer necessary. Bates and Josie aimed their weapons and fired quick bursts at the cameras. All four were blasted apart. We looked about the large room, and it dawned on us. The place was some kind of laboratory or museum.
"What are they keeping here?" Roy looked about, incredulously. These were not the usual trinkets of a museum. There were pieces of wreckage, tools and machines, some of Ebh'an manufacture, that I recognized. "And what are these large canisters over here?" There were six canisters.
"They're bodies," Father said. "They've been keeping some of the alien bodies whose ship crashed to Earth more than four decades ago. And this is where they've kept them. On your land."
"Aliens? You mean there really are aliens?"
"Sure there are," Bates answered. "Who do you think these people are?" He pointed to Paul and me, and grinned.
Roy instantly trained his rifle on us.
"Don't touch that voodo-magic thing of yours, or your dead. I trusted you, and now I find out you're Aliens!" His eyes were suddenly cold and his face twisted in anger.
Josie calmly walked over to the door and closed it. Then he locked it. If there were going to be dead Aliens here, which there already were, the soldiers outside were not going to get to them now. Roy kept his rifle on us. Bates watched it all with amusement in his eyes.
There was still a part of Bates that worked in a mysterious way, and not to be trusted. And now he found an unlikely ally, Roy. The two of them could capture us, turn us over, and get a commendation for doing so.
"Hey, Roy. Put down the gun." It was Josie. "I too am Indian. This is not our fight. You're wrong about them."
Roy narrowed his eyes but held his gun at us.
"I'm no Indian like you. And you're with them."
We all stood frozen, not daring to move.
"Carlos," I ordered in my head. "Go get that little grey silver box in that case by the wall." He moved very quietly to it, as if merely examining the contents, oblivious of what was happening in the room. Being a child, he could be forgiven for this. But Roy had too many questions in his mind to worry about a little boy. As the stand off continued, I ordered him to pocket it and to come back by our side. This he did. Father was totally with me on this, as was Josie. They were the ones I could trust. I was not sure about Bates. Roy, it seemed, was lost in his own fear and confusion.
Bates grinned. We had all temporarily forgotten about the guards coming for us. They were a great distance away in our minds. The moment at hand was the only present for us now. And even if we could get out of this alive, what were the chances we could get back to the tunnel exit to rendezvous with our ship? And what of the other ship out in the night somewhere? It would be dawn soon, so it was scheduled no doubt to return. Once it came back, our exit would be blocked. And the chance of destroying the ship and still escape seemed very remote indeed. We were stuck deep underground in a chamber about a kilometer beneath the mountain. In the end, this would become our tomb too. All this flashed in our minds as we looked at Roy. Then an idea flashed into mine. But Bates voiced it.
"This is a highly secret installation, Roy. You're not supposed to know about it. What do you think they will do with you, and me, when they find us here?"
Roy's mind was trying to imagine the scenario. I helped him visualize his arrest, and then permanent imprisonment, or death. Birdie too. His finger backed away from the trigger. Bates was still grinning. Then he added:
"You see? Check mate, old boy. There is no way out of here, except with their help. We need them. So put down the gun."
Footsteps were heard down the hall. They were upon us.
"Can your voodoo-magic go through steel doors?" Roy asked, at long last.
We all smiled. Bates was still grinning. He enjoyed the thrill of facing the impossible.
"Yes."
Josie and Paul both trained their machines at the soldiers on the other side of the door. Then they opened it, Bates and Roy weapons ready. But there was quiet in the hall. The soldiers were sitting amiably on the corridor floor. Those Ebh'an programs must be really something, I thought. Pleasant images of the countryside, or their cherished childhood memories ran through their minds, or beautiful naked women. Each one had a different vision, and it made me want to laugh. But then I turned and looked at the Ebh'an bodies. They were lost here, I thought. Lost to their own kind, maybe forever. A grisly thought occurred to me.
I quickly went over to the canisters, as the others were massing in the hallway, and opened them. The remains of the bodies inside were in pieces, obviously the result of some catastrophic crash, or post autopsy. Two bodies were decapitated, and some of the limbs were missing. A terrible stench rose from the open canisters. Paul came back for me.
"Maya. What are you doing?"
"They have to come back with us, Father."
"We can't take them. There is no way. And look at the condition they're in!"
"I know. But the Ebh'ans need very little to recapture each being's essence."
Paul knew instantly what I meant. He reached over to a counter and emptied the contents of memorabilia from a metal box. Then he went over to the canisters, and from each took a finger, or other body part that was small enough to transport. As the bodies had reached a mummified state in this dry climate, they broke apart easily. When he had a piece from each canister, he closed the lid on the box, and tucked it under his arm.
"Let's go," he said quietly, partly in reverence for the dead, partly because he knew I was in a solemn state. Then he contacted Master, while we were on the run down the metal gangways to catch up with the others. They were already at the tunnel. The experimental craft had not yet returned, and there were no cameras to let the control room know we were escaping. They were no doubt assuming we were being escorted by the soldiers down the long corridor to the elevators. "Master, under low light, bring the ship down to the tunnel entrance, in thirty seconds."
We broke into a fast run, but Bates wheeled and ran back into the holding bay. We heard a loud burst of machine gun fire, and then a roaring explosion. Bates ran back, trailing smoke. The heat from the holding bay was now growing intense, and we had to get out. The mouth of the tunnel was now bright with light. It was not yet daybreak. Something did not make sense. Then we heard it, as if coming from slow and distant drums. We looked outside, and the sky was covered with them.
"Numbers!" Bates yelled. "They came down in fucken numbers!"
Roy was also laughing, having forgotten his fear and anger at us. The night had been entirely magical for him, so one more piece of magic was more than he could stand. He was delirious with a mad laughter. His mind was beginning to snap. Josie was also grinning, as was Carlos. He held onto his pocket where the communicator box was hidden. Paul was also smiling. Rescue was at hand.
When we exited the tunnel's entrance, the Ebh'an ships were waiting for us. But there was another surprise. Just below Master's ship was another vessel. It was the one we saw exit earlier. It was now down on the ground, its two pilots walking about their vessel aimlessly, looking up at the sky. They looked confused and frightened. The sky was bright with light, so bright that even the people of Dulce could not fail to see it. It must have looked from there like a giant fireball on the horizon past the mesa. And now the explosions from inside the tunnel were growing larger, so we all cleared out of the way of the hot gases emanating from there. Smoke was seen rising from other tunnel entry ways also. The whole installation was going up in flames. There were no soldiers evident, or if they were, they were hiding. A loud voice came from Master's vessel:
"Abandon your ship. It will be towed to another location. You may return to base. These are direct orders from the highest authorities."
The pilots broke in a run away from their vessel. They were headed for the mountain, which now looked like an inferno, smoke pouring out of it.
"What did you do in there, Bates?" Father asked.
"I saw some canisters that had strange markings on them. They could have had radioactive waste for all I knew. But I fired on them. Looks like it was highly volatile stuff!"
"Looks hot. I guess the place will be destroyed completely."
"Yeah. I wonder what the newspapers will say."
"They'll say absolutely nothing. Or at best, it might be called a laboratory fire, and dismissed as a minor incident."
"But what of the government?"
"All top secret. On a need to know basis only. Few will ever know what happened here."
"And Roy?"
"We have to get him out of here."
The Ebh'ans' ships now converged over our ship, and then Master moved away from their center. A dozen ships now hovered at a distance from the experimental ship on the ground. Bates and Josie ran over to it, and quickly climbed inside. The ship began moving slowly away from the Earth, and the entryway closed. They were aboard their ship as it was levitating skyward. In a few moments, the dozen escorts had the ship vectored out of sight, and out of the atmosphere. Roy came over to us, looking a little shaken. The enormity of what had just happened was beginning to dawn on him. The other Ebh'an ships followed, and they too disappeared from view. Only Master's vessel was left. He brought it closer in to us.
"You want to ride with us?" Father asked of Roy.
"Sure. Why not. I've seen so much magic tonight, that I might as well go with you Aliens to Mars."
Carlos grinned on hearing this.
"They won't take you to Mars," he answered in English. His young mind was listening to the conversations of the night with a new ear, with a part of his mind he never knew he had. Now he could pick it up as easily as we could. "They'll take you back to your truck. And then you have to kill a deer."
"That's your cover, Roy." I said. "You have to show that you were hunting in the forest, or the government agents will ask you a lot of questions. What had happened here is so secret, you actually have to forget about it." With those words, I left a command in his mind. But this way, I knew he would not be confused like the others were. He nodded in understanding. "Will you need our help to find one?"
An answer took no time at all to form in his head.
"No way! This is my land, and I know the game here. I'll have one by first light."
"Then tell us where you want to hunt, and we'll take you and your truck there."
He climbed into the waiting ship. By now his mind was too overwhelmed to even wonder at the strange world he had just entered. We lifted off, Master and Paul at the controls. Then we flew over his truck and lifted it with our vector fields. Roy gave us directions, trying to assess from the air where his hunting ground should be. He kept looking down at his truck trailing us in mid air. When he was satisfied that he was at the right place, he signaled us down. We pointed out to him where a herd had settled for the night. Then we lowered his truck onto a dirt road, and landed at an area where the land had been cleared. He turned to us, still holding his rifle, a bewildered look on his face.
"I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me. I don't know where you're from, but you're the two most unusual people I ever met. And your friends are all unusual too. They're good people." He looked at Carlos, then at Master. Somehow, his mind could not accept that he was in the presence of an android, so he saw him instead as another odd alien. "I guess I have to keep this all a secret, don't I?"
"You will remember it all as in a dream, Roy," Father said to him. "But you will never entirely forget. We are a part of you now, as you are a part of us. Heal yourself with what you learned tonight and go into the world unafraid. You have something no man can ever take away from you. You have your courage, as you so amply showed, and you have yourself. Now we must go. Good luck with your catch."
Father held his hands together in the way of our world. I did the same, and Roy answered us in the same way, bowing slightly, to each one of us present, even Master. The Light was already working on his mind, and he knew us at another level. Then he smiled and turned, and as he was about to walk out of the entry way, Father called to him: "And Roy?" Roy turned to look at him. "Fix your breaks." He laughed and went out into the night. From the viewing port, I could see that he turned back one more time, and waved. We lifted off, and in seconds were above the mountains. The mesa fires were still belching their flames, but in the distance on the eastern horizon, the first rays of a new day were beginning to reach for this land. Carlos came over to me, and handed me the metal box he had been guarding. We lifted high into the atmosphere and were away from the dark world below, watching the large orb of the sun rise over the rim of the planet. With the help of our new Earth friends, we had accomplished the most difficult part of our mission. We still had time.





Chapter 33: Chosen.


"You know, Father, there are still seven Ebh'an bodies on the Earth, still hidden somewhere on secret installations. Tenya mentioned something about some air base."
"I know love, but those bodies are considered missing in action, and their return to the Ebh'ans may have to wait. We cannot go back for them now, as all those bases will be on alert for us, and they could capture us as well."
"Then maybe the governments who hold them could return them at the time of Contact."
"That's right, princess. That may turn out to be their gift to us at the time of Contact, when they return those bodies. But we cannot know any of that for now. We must return to the Ship and meet with the Ebh'ans. Though they erred in the past, they have proved invaluable allies now. And we still have to return Bates and Josie and Carlos to their world. There is still much to do before we head for the Galaxy's center."
Carlos was listening to us in his mind, and a look of concern came over his face.
"Will I be an orphan again, when I return?"
"You will be in hands that love you," I answered. "We'll see that it is so. But you have seen and learned so much that you will never be the poor little boy you were before. You have a wealth now that will carry you all through life. And, who knows? Maybe you will be one of the party receiving us when comes time for Contact, and Earth is at last admitted into the universal community of Living Worlds."
"I'd like to be. And now I can speak and understand English. In only one day! How can that be?"
"Its magic," I winked at him. Then held him in my arms. He was more than just a little brother to me now. I truly loved him. "And thank you for all your help and for hiding the communicator for me, when I asked you. You did very well."
The small praise meant a lot to him. As we were talking, the large Star-ship appeared in the viewing ports, and Carlos looked out into space, suddenly very quiet. He had never seen anything like it.
The captured Earth ship was already in the docking bay, and the Ebh'an ships were holding a pattern nearby. One of their ships was also in docking. This would be Uuuubh's ship, no doubt. We made our landing in the belly of the great Star-ship. Seth and Mother were already waiting for us. We were now positioned on the dark side of the planet below, the sun having swung to the other side. It looked mysterious suspended in space, a thin halo of light around its perimeter, like a crown of light. We touched down and the clamps that hold the shuttle crafts in place were applied. Carlos was all eyes and ears at the sights and sounds coming from inside the great vessel. The entry way opened, and I led him by the hand into the holding bay receiving area. Father and Master followed. Bates and Josie were waiting for us.
Bates ran over to us ahead of the others. He was so eager to share with us the wonder of where he was.
"This place looks like half of Manhattan Island!" he exclaimed excitedly. "How many people do you have aboard?"
"Only four hundred. That is all we need to run the Ship. But she can hold ten times that."
"I could see she could!"
Then Seth approached us, and Bates stood to one side. Josie was still with the others, conferring with Ta'an and Tenya. Kahla and Mother were also with them.
"Welcome home. You have done all you were asked to do. To all of you our deepest thanks, and from the Ebh'ans also. Uuuubh has already arrived and will be here shortly." Then Seth gave us a great smile, more out of relief from within himself, and gave each of us a great hug. He was truly glad we were all back alive. "We still have three more days, but we must make ready for our return." We were cutting it close, so all had that on their minds. "But I have wonderful news from the Fallah'An sector. We have been notified through the Dreamers that our return journey can be accomplished without great risk." The he looked at Paul. "And that means all of us can return in the same Ship together."
"You mean they adjusted the universal fabric?" Father asked.
"That is exactly that. We can reenter the gravity hole and not experience the time differential we experienced on our way here. But it will mean slower progress."
"You mean we can't do forty-two hundred times light speed?"
"No. But there is an additional condition."
"A condition?" But Father already knew the answer, as it showed itself in Seth's mind. "Ah... So we have to bring something back to Earth from the Fallah'Ans..."
"They have wonderful minds, which we cannot even begin to fathom. But in their work, they have seen that Earth will need an additional element to bring her into the Universal community. So we will need to return again soon."
Bates had also picked up on what they were talking about, and he looked at them with anticipation in his eyes. They were pleading for a chance to join them on their return visit. Seth saw it also and smiled at him. There still were things we could not know about that visit.
Mother came over to me and put her arms around me, engulfing me completely. I instantly responded to her familiar smell. It was good to be in her warmth again. Then aside to her:
"Mother, it was wonderful! I love Earth. She is a beautiful world, and so full of mysteries. And fun! Do you know what we did?"
"Oh, yes, my princess. We followed all your moves on Josie's and Paul's communicators. We felt almost as if we were there. The whole Ship knows, as we replayed the events over and over again. All had to know."
"But where are they all now?"
"Making ready for the return journey. There is much that must be done in preparation. It will be a safer trip, but we still cannot afford any chances."
She beamed at me, and then at Carlos, whom she also gave a hug. She called him a beautiful little boy, and he looked pleased with himself. We returned to the others in the holding bay. Uuuubh approached us now.
His strange lilting gate had that surprising agility to it, like he was excited to see us again. Master was with him, and it occurred to me that the two were really not so different. They were both about the same height, smaller than most of the humans I know.
"Dear little Maya. I am again in your debt. Paul told me it was you who thought of bringing back some of the remains of our own. You were very astute to realize that even the smallest remains can be useful to us. I salute you again. Your courage and awareness will be highly acclaimed on our world. Our world is grateful to you."
"I remembered what you would do with the bodies we brought you before. But there are still more of yours on the planet. I am sorry we could not get to them as well."
"We will leave something for the future. They had been gone so long, that we had learned to accept this. It would have been no different if they had perished in a catastrophe in space, and totally vaporized. But we know they still exist, and that will be a future mission for us."
"Maybe when we do Contact..."
"Maybe then. But what you have done was wonderful."
Then Uuuubh turned to Carlos.
"And you, young man," he spoke to him into his head. "You are to be rewarded for your action in securing our communications device. With it, we can now replay all that happened on that terrible day when the ship went down. It is a gift to us that we cannot express thanks in words. So we have a little gift for you."
Uuuubh was holding something small in his hand, and now he opened his long webbed fingers for Carlos to see. He looked puzzled, not knowing immediately what Uuuubh was holding. It looked like a small red marble, clear and beautiful, like a jewel. He reached for it hesitantly and held it up to the light.
"It is beautiful. But what is it?"
"It is a book."
Carlos examined it further, turning it over in the light.
"But I've never seen a book like this. How do I read it?"
"You simply focus your mind on it, and it will reveal itself to you."
Carlos did that, asking the book to open its pages, and a smile came over his face.
"I see it. It is telling me all about your world. I feel almost as if I am there!" Then he closed his eyes, looking into the images the small stone in his hand set to his mind.
"But there is one more thing, Carlos." Uuuubh waited for him to regain his focus on him. "There are pages in that book that cannot be opened yet. They hold secrets of our ways and our world, some technical secrets, that will open for you only when Contact is finally established with your world. Then, maybe, you will be one of the ones chosen to bring this Contact to its full fruition. I hope you will be one of the chosen ones."
Carlos looked at Uuuubh with newly serious eyes. He had understood the meaning of those words with a mind that had wakened as if from a deep sleep. He could see it with a depth few are ever given, and he felt honored and privileged for this. I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me, hesitantly. It was hard to remember that he was still very young, but his mind was growing very quickly. He will be a fine man.
When we returned to join the others, Uuuubh had a farewell message for us all. He was about to return to his Star-ship. So he turned to us,. hands together, gave a low bow, and then straightened.
"You are all pure and beautiful souls. That has been your greatest gift to us, that we have come to know those souls. And in that gift, you have proven again your generosity by bringing back to us that which we value most of all things. You have given us back our dead, so they can be again with us in life. We feel powerless to repay you at this time. But in time, we will find a way. You will never be forgotten. Farewell and a blessing on all your future journeys."
He turned and walked back to his ship, where Uuuubh was waiting for him. It must be strange to live in a world where there are only four names, like the fingers on one's hand. But the Ebh'ans have only four fingers, and they are totally telepathic, so on their world there is no need for more names than that.
Josie and Bates looked pleased with themselves. They had ridden aboard a top secret vessel from their world, though they did not drive it, and somehow that bonded them in a way nothing else could. Both their weapons were gone now, and their empty handedness seemed strange somehow. I had grown so used to seeing them with assault weapons trained, that I could not imagine them without them. But they had a new power now, one greater than the use of force. Now they had the vision of the Light. So even without the technical trappings of all our machines, they would go into the world with a new faith and power. They could see that all that happens is not random in fate, and that faith in the unfolding of events is as much a power as is action. They would learn to wait and be still, for when the whole universe works with them in terms of who they are, their strength will become magnified in untold ways. Their only true effort then, is to be truly who they are. To chose to be true to themselves, as they had been chosen by fate, this is the greatest power. And this they now knew.
"Where are we going now?" Bates wanted to know.
"We have to prepare for our return journey. But first we have to return you three to your world. Any preferences as to where you want to go?"
"I want to go back to my village," responded Josie.
"Can I go with you?" asked Carlos, plaintively.
"Of course you can. You are like a little brother to me now. You will be made welcome in my family and village. They will all accept you as our own." He gave Carlos a smile that came from deep inside his heart.
Then Bates looked solemn. He had no where to go now. He was rejected by the world he came from, as his life would be in danger there. He had to find himself a new life, one that would be beyond the reach of the secretive agency in which he was formerly employed. There was no going back, only forward. And he knew this, though it nevertheless worried him, at some level.
"I guess I always liked a good challenge," he said, feeling us looking at him. "Can I go back with you Josie, for a while?" Josie nodded in approval, wishing for his close friend only the very best. "Then maybe I'll head for Columbia. I know people there, and there are things I could do."
"You could join me at the university in Sao Paolo, if you like. They could always use good teachers there."
"No. I'm not a teacher. At least not yet. I've got to go where the action is. The Columbians are fighting their powerful drug cartels. They'll be plenty of action there. I guess that's where I'll go next." Then he looked at me. "Sure wish I had some of your fine instruments to help me in that war..."
I smiled when his mind flashed what it was he truly wanted. But I knew I had to ask Father first. So I asked him in my mind, explaining what it was Bates wanted, and he flashed back that it was alright to give it to him. But that its power source was limited and would be good only for about four years. I agreed to explain, and thanked him. Then I reached into my pouch still strapped to my waist.
"Josie has Mother's lighter. So Paul thought it was alright to give you something to help you in your quest." I pulled out the utility knife, and Bates's eyes lit up. It was exactly what he wanted. He took it gently from my hands, and held it reverentially in his. I explained its other uses.
"You are a great kid, Maya. A truly great kid. Somehow, you seem so much older than your years. You knew that I was not to be trusted at one time, and yet you had the faith in me to not abandon me. You always treated me with patience and care. You are very fine for this." Then he held up the knife and examined it approvingly. "I will use this only to the good. Always to the good."
Then Carlos had a thought, share by all three.
"How will you know when our world is ready for you?"
"We don't know when that will be. Even the Dreamers do not know. I guess we'll watch for signs from your world."
"Can we do anything to make those signs come faster?"
I thought about it for awhile. A thought had been forming in me for some days, maybe reinforced by something Roy had said, or maybe it was a message that came together from circumstances. But now that they asked the question, it seemed appropriate, somehow. I share that thought with them.
"Remember when Roy said it was all his land?" They nodded, uncertain of where I was taking them. "Then you have to let us know that you are ready to make the world your land. The Earth is now under a spell of power, one that even the people there had accepted for such a very long time that they have accepted it as normal. They don't trust each other, nor even themselves in many ways, so they turned their power over to their governments. And there are those from amongst them who always rise to put on that mantle of power, those who would be kings. But time will come when you will have to reclaim all that power for yourselves, not in defiance of your governments, but in association with them. The people have to change how they are governed, not with fear and the threat of force, but with understanding and with respect for each individual's rights. Then we will know the Earth has given us the most important sign. But even more important now. You must make your world safe for all your living things. Even the frogs. If they die, then other things will die. You must save your world from dying."
Josie picked up on that instantly.
"I know what you mean, Maya. When I return to the jungle, I want to set up watch agencies so we could monitor the living ecology around us. And when we succeed in stopping the destruction of the forests and its living things, then you will know that we are one step closer."
Bates nodded in agreement.
"Maybe we could work on it together. I know people in Washington who can be very influential in our cause." He looked at Josie. "I guess I will work with you at the University. It's better than killing drug lords in the jungle somewhere. Yeah. Let's work together."
Josie straightened and seemed suddenly very please with this idea.
"But how will the people let you know that they are ready for this?" Carlos asked. He too was following all that was said and thought. Another thought occurred to me.
"Let them shine a light," I said. "Pick a day, no a night, once a year, one that all the world celebrates, like Christmas or something, when at an appointed hour, everyone who supports this idea of freedom, anywhere in the world, will go outside and light a light for us."
"You mean like lighting a fire?"
"It could be anything, fires, flashlights, fireworks. Even powerful searchlights or lasers pointed into the sky. It would be like a light to dispel all fear. Then your governments will see it, and we will see it too, and we will know that you are giving us the signal. Then we too will be ready. And we will know by the light, that it is time."
"Let's pick New Years!" Carlos cheered. "Every New Year, when the clock strikes twelve and the new year begins, lets shine the lights then! We could even put mirrors in the sky, so you could see it better!"
"A good choice," we all agreed in unison. Then Josie added:
"Everyone in the world celebrates the calendar's starting of a new year, and most everybody in the world is synchronized on the same time sequence. And it will be dark. And many people are up for the celebration anyway. Perfect! Or maybe Earth Day... But could it actually happen?"
"Maybe not at first, but in time. Slowly, there will be a few lights, then maybe some more, and in time, when all the world wants it, there will be many. You are meant to join us, so I am sure, in time, you will. Each year more people will shine their light of goodwill to all. And each meridian will light up like a great band of light from pole to pole." We all stayed silent a moment, in each other's thoughts, thinking of what it would be like. A whole world waking up, sending up their voices and spirits at the dawning of a new era. And then one day, we would respond to their light. It is like 'Aan, I thought, where we are in the Being of All, and then, when we become conscious, the Being of All becomes conscious with us. And things change. Then words came into my mind as if from some great distance:
"Awaken from a deep sleep. Awaken with love for all things. All living things can feel this. Awaken with love and light for all life everywhere, all the time. You are angels in the Dream."
The thought moved through me like a large and slow wave. I thought of the Fallah'Ans, but even there I felt less than this. This came from a place that saw the universe with no shadows. We all remained silent, as if each one of us was touched deep inside our souls.
Seth signalled to us that it was time to board for the final journey to the planet's surface. Reluctantly, after everyone's goodbyes, Father had said to them, "Now you are one of us," my friends and I made ready.






Chapter 34: Goodbye.


Master took us down. Paul needed to stay for the upcoming preparations. As a Dreamers, his work was needed at a most important time. Only I had no specific duties to perform, so I accompanied our party down to the Amazon jungle.
Master landed us at a small clearing, an abandoned farm not far from Josie's village. The jungle was wet and fragrant from a passing rain, which had just stopped. How I would miss that clean fragrance. Now a blue sky was once again showing above the trees. Josie stepped off first and stood a moment on his land, looking up at the sky. Then Carlos stepped out, followed by Bates and I.
"I guess I should say goodbye to you here."
"No. Take us into the village," they all cried. Master stood in the entry way and signalled to me that I could, but only a short while.
"I guess I can do that. And I want to say goodbye to Connie also."
We trekked down a jungle path the short distance to the village. The tall trees closed over us again and the stillness of the wet and dripping jungle in the afternoon heat reminded me of my first time here. It now seemed impossibly long ago, though it was only three weeks ago. So much had happened since that first day of my unofficial Planet-walk. Now I was once again on familiar loam, the soft spongy soil beneath my feet. Only monkeys high in the trees quietly noticed our passage. The rest of life seemed too busy with its endeavors to bother with us. We had come back into the world as we had left it, and it continued on as if we had never left.
When we got to the village, Bates by then had taken the lead, the children in the earthen square were the first to notice us, and let out a cry of glee at seeing their old friend again, and Josie. Then they looked at Carlos shyly, not knowing what to make of him, and at me, though they had seen me before.
"They're returned!" they went crying to their houses.
The villagers came out to look at us, and dogs rose from their sleep to watch us approach, then called out an alarm. The faces of the people were glad to see their fellow villager again, and Bates, and their new friends. There was a welcome from them that went out to us instantly, but there was also a surprise. They knew something we did not, and could not wait to tell us.
Connie came out of the house at the sound of the commotion outside and put out her arms in a gesture of a great welcome. She was glad to see her son again, and that in truth he was not dead. She came running over to him and he grabbed her in his powerful arms and swept her off the ground. After her tearful face stopped kissing him, she looked into his eyes and spoke quietly:
"There is someone here to see you, Josie."
She took him by the hand and led him towards the house, the rest of us in tow. This must have been the surprise I could sense from the other villagers.
Connie stopped us a few steps from the house and she ran inside. Then she reappeared with a person in tow, holding her by the hand. Josie's face lit instantly into a great smile, as did Bates and Carlos and I. It was Queenie. She had war paint on, like she had been playing with the children and they had decorated her in reds and blacks. She looked lovely, but positively outrageous, even ferocious. Her lips also parted and curved into a vivacious smile. She was glad to see Josie again, and he was too. They walked over to each other slowly, almost shyly, and held each other a moment without speaking. The rest of us looked on, as did the other villagers. All knew this was a special moment, and the two lovers again were reunited.
"How did you know where to find me?" Josie asked her at last.
"You told me where you lived. So when I got to Manaus, I just kept asking how to get here. But they kept trying to sell me jungle tours, so I persisted until I found a guide who took me here. I've only been here two days, but I am so at home already. I guess there was a reason I had to come to Brazil."
"I thought you came to sing."
"I thought I did too. But I guess it was fate." She glanced up at him sideways. He knew what she meant, and he was glad.
"Queenie, I have so much to tell you." Then he turned to us. "You already know everybody, but Maya must be leaving now. And Carlos is staying with us. I've adopted him."
"You have? Oh, what a wonderful idea! I thought about him all the way to Bolivar, what a great little boy he is." She turned to Carlos. "It's great to see you again, Carlos. And you look so good, but different somehow. You look... so clean!"
We laughed. Carlos came over to her and put his arm around her waist.
"There is much I want to tell also, but I don't know if you'll ever believe me." His little head rested against her bosom. He had found comfort there, and now he knew that he was going to be loved.
Bates started shuffling his feet, looking about the village, wondering where his signorita was. But Josie picked up on this and playfully punched him in the shoulder.
"Come on, Bates. Your life isn't over yet." Then to Queenie: "Hey! What happened to the others?"
"I saw Jim and Powell pass through. They stayed at the hotel a few days, where Jim made some money at cards. They bought a jeep and supplies and were off into the jungle somewhere. They said something strange about the devil being after them, so they left early one morning and that was it. Had not seen them since."
"Did they still have the weapons and ammo?"
"I think they sold one of the machine guns they had, and kept one. But they were very secretive about what they had, so I'm not sure. They acted funny, like I don't remember from before, when I saw them at El Dorado. Even George said so."
"And where is that old priest?" Bates asked.
"He went back to L.A. He said he had enough of South America for now and wanted some change of scenery."
"So he left you, just like that?" Josie sounded indignant.
"Oh no. I left before he did. He could tell on our trip back that I wasn't happy. So we talked about it. He said I'd be throwing my career away. But he supported me in my decision, and gave me some travel money."
"Well, I'm glad he did. And you can still have a musical career. I'm planning to take back my old teaching position in Sao Paolo, temporarily. It's a different world there. But that is still months away, for the fall season. For now, we have important work to do in the jungle..."
I cleared my throat, to let them know I had to leave. Connie came over, to see if I wanted anything to eat, or a drink of milk. This brought back memories of the goat's milk and I quickly assured her I was all right. Then Carlos came over to me to let me know he wanted to walk back with me. I thought it was okay.
I said my goodbyes, formally, to all present. Josie and Connie both gave me a big hug. Queenie shook my hand, and Bates gave me a military salute. But then he came over and also held me in his arms. We had had some great times together, so it was hard to leave what had become my adopted family. But Carlos took me by the hand, and we walked away down the jungle trail back to the clearing.
We walked quietly in the large and still jungle for a while. Then Carlos reached deep into his pocket and pulled out his little red jewel.
"It's magic, isn't it?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, it is. But don't let the other boys make you give it up in a game of marbles."
He smiled at my joke. Though he was older than me in years, I was always telling him what to do, like an older sister. Then, when we were almost there, I looked at him earnestly.
"You will take care of yourself here, won't you? Stay healthy?"
"Yes, I will. I promise."
As we walked, Carlos seemed deep in thought. Then he asked me what was on his mind:
"What is my Dream?"
I looked at him, already knowing what was on his mind.
"A more beautiful world. A world where all people can live in peace and joy and see the beauty of life all around them, in all living things. It's what all the people of Earth dream." He nodded. This too was his Dream.
We walked again in silence. Then he stopped me, and turning towards me took both of my hands into his. He looked at me seriously in the eyes.
"You have beautiful eyes, Maya."
Carlos looked at me a moment longer, holding my hands. I looked down at the jungle floor, but then up at him. His eyes were speaking to me from deep within his soul.
"I love you, Maya."
I squeezed his hands in mine.
"I love you too, Carlos."
We turned and continued walking, not saying another word.
When we got to the ship, Master opened the entryway for me. As I was about to step in, I turned and gave Carlos a great hug. He held me in his arms a long time, then Master made a sound that sounded like 'ahum'. I patted him on the head and kissed him on the lips, and then turned to enter the ship. The entry way closed and I saw my little friend's face get smaller and smaller as we lifted off. In moments we were above Earth's atmosphere and back in space. Somewhere on that beautiful world below was my friend. A little part of me had stayed behind.
We got to the great Ship, but now no Ebh'an ships were about. They had left for their sector of the Galaxy of Reticulum. Space seemed empty somehow. What had been such a center of activity only days ago, even earlier today, was all all quiet now. Only the Star-ship's great engines were greeting us upon approach. Master maneuvered the landing craft into the holding bay. When the bay doors closed, they sealed the end of a journey. My visit to Mother's planet was over. I said goodbye to Earth.



Chapter 35: The Promise.

"You know, Maya, while you were down on the planet's surface with our friends, I was in touch with the Fallah'Ans," Father was saying to me as we shifted through the phases of space. Earth was now no more than a tiny dot of light in a great panorama of stars. I looked out the viewing port and my mind wandered over to it. Such a tiny spec in the cosmos, and yet so full of life. Then my attention returned to Paul, who continued saying: "And they commended us on our mission here. They were especially interested in the return of the bodies to the Ebh'ans, and said that they felt you were a special person. They even told us that they felt you were special when you stepped off the Ship to meet them. Now they look forward to seeing you again."
"Is that where we are going?"
"Yes. We will stop there first, before our return home." Paul looked at me with his serious eyes. He also had the sadness in them that I had, as he had learned to love Earth in the way I did. He had spent a much longer time there, and had made many friends who now were left behind. He picked up this in my mind. "We will return there again, sooner than you think. There is still much work to be done to prepare that wonderful little world."
"You mean that I will be coming back too?"
"I suspect that it is so."
"But why do they suffer so much? Such a beautiful planet but so full of woe?"
"I do not know, love. But I can answer you in the way someone very special once answered a similar question I had. It was a man I had met on my first Planet-walk on Earth. I had taken his identity, thinking he was dead. But he was alive and I met up with him at a cave in a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayan mountains. His name is Mananam, and I had asked him about death and suffering. He sat in silent meditation and then looked up with his blind eyes. He answered my question in this way: 'The joy of life must suffer its own pain.' The words are not exact, but the answer is the same. We must pass through a phase of suffering to reach joy. So Earth is in that phase now, and when she awakens, she will join the rest of the Universe in pure joy and love."
"Will she get a new name then, when she has passed through her suffering?"
"When we join Earth in Contact, we will give her a new name, as all new worlds are given."
"What will we call her, Father?"
"The Dreamers had already agreed to this. When Earth is ready, we will call her by the name of the man who gave the answer to my question. 'Mananam'. Earth will then be called Mananam."
"But what if they don't like the name?"
"A world can have many names. Nothing is ever fixed in the Dream. But Mananam will be the name we will give her, though she may choose one of her own. After all, she is a very independent planet. So we should expect no less."
I smiled at Father's reference to Earth's stubborn independence.
"She is, isn't she? There is a wild spirit to that world that surpasses all the other known worlds. Accepting Earth into the community of Living Worlds, of the Stellar Unity, is like taming a wild filly. She may become tame, but she'll always have a mind of her own."
"Very like that, I'm afraid. But maybe that is why we love her so much. The heart of the planet, when it is really free, will never cease to surprise us, and we must be ready for this. She is truly a very beautiful world."
"And now we both have friends there. I'm glad, Father."
"So am I."
We both thought about it for awhile. In my mind I was replaying the time in the jungle when the Ebh'an ships appeared, and how Bates changed sides. Father and I both looked at that in our minds, and both felt that it had happened too quickly, somehow.
"Why did Bates change from the CIA so quickly?" I wondered.
"I am still not sure that he did. There may still be treachery in him, for all we know. He's what they call 'opportunistic'. But I liked the man."
"Do you think he could pose a danger to our future mission?"
"I'd like to think that he would not. But we cannot know until the time comes."
Paul mused on that awhile, as did I. We both thought about how difficult it is to see treachery in the Dream. It is like a blind spot. Then another thought occurred to us.
"Did we really have the right to take back with us an Earth-made vessel without their permission?"
It was a question that had weighed on our minds since the incident, but was buried by all the other events that preceded and followed. Earth's energy is sometimes too much to process all at once. Then Father answered:
"I don't know the answer to that, love. I can only voice my opinion."
"That we had no choice, given the Quarantine?"
"If Earth's powers had that energy source now, it would throw the whole question of their joining the Living Worlds into jeopardy. The Unity of Living Worlds is a very delicate balance predicated on values that put human freedom and development above those of power. If Earth was to develop power without the values that guided all reality, they would close themselves off from their own advancement, in terms of how unfolds the Universe. Their Quarantine would close in on them forever, and they would become a closed and dangerous world. In time, their atmosphere would choke them off and they would become a dead world. Until next time."
"She would destroy herself like an evolutionary dead end?"
"Like that."
"So by taking the ship back, you saved them from their own doom."
"I hope so. But we will never know for sure."
The rising and falling chorus of the engines now told us that we had jumped into the higher frequencies of space. We were now long past the last planets of Earth's solar system and travelling at multiple light speed towards the Galaxy's center. In a couple of weeks, we will be there, and will have to go through the dreaded gravity hole again. But the Fallah'Ans assured us of safe passage. Paul and I sat back in the large chairs, looking up at the viewing wall. The Galaxy surrounded us like a vast womb of brightly lit, multicolored stars. They were all worlds, many with life on them. And on each one there played an infinite drama of individual lives, each acting out their personal destinies. We had just done that, on that lovely world. But we were only the players. Earth will have to script her own future in the scheme of things in the Universe, in the Dream.
Father broke the silence.
"You should know, love, why the Fallah'Ans want us to return to Earth."
He waited to regain my attention, which was captivated by the passing stars beyond the viewing walls. I turned to him.
"What is it they need us do, Father?"
"They will select three people from around the Universe to bring to Earth as a new seed."
"You mean take people off other worlds and take them to Earth?"
"Something more than that. They will choose newly grown humans, who were developed in special ways under the direction of the Fallah'Ans. These beings are beautiful and pure, their beings unblemished by all the complications of past lives. So they are new souls. But they look like the indigenous people of Earth, so they could fit into their world without suspicion."
"You mean pure, like new babies?"
"Yes. Like that. And it is for us to bring them. This is all to happen before Contact."
I watched in silence, thinking what it meant, new beings for a new world. I wondered what part the Fallah'Ans had in mind for them on this new world.
"Contact is close, isn't it?"
"The Dreamers say it is, and all are happy and hope this is so."
"But how will these new human beings fit into existing societies?"
"We have not been given any details, yet. But we know this much. Each person will be introduced into an indigenous Earth society, one that had great suffering at the hands of others. There they will be born and grow and develop as one of their own."
"Where are they to go?"
"This too had not been finalized. But I believe, from what the Fallah'Ans told us, that maybe into Asia, maybe Tibet. The other two are still in doubt, maybe Africa, or the Americas. Really, anywhere. The whole world had suffered."
"I want it to be in the Amazon."
Father smiled. "If it is in their Dream."
"Do you mean like Carlos and Josie? Will they be like them?"
"That's right. Those whose beginnings were humble, but achievements great."
"Humble but great... That is not easy on their world."
"It's not. I know. It's like a difficult test."
"One child should go to Roy's tribe."
"We cannot direct the Fallah'Ans, in what is a mystery even to them."
"But what about Australia, and the aboriginal people there? They should send them into those worlds that cannot heal themselves."
"I believe that is how the Fallah'Ans also see it. But I do not know."
"Do Seth and San'aa know of this?"
"Yes, they have already been told. And they will be part of that mission."
"Will you?"
"Yes. Me too."
"And me?"
"If you choose. Especially you."
"Promise?"
"It's a promise."
I thought about that a moment, how it will be like attending a new birth. A planet that had been hurt will now be healed, maybe in a most surprising way. I thought of the lights the Earth will shine for us, and for herself, to tell us the healing had started. How their light will shine every hour from a new band of the planet, twenty-four times, though they may be very few over the oceans. They will all no doubt be faint lights, as seen from space. But like just before daybreak, before the world's new star rises into the sky, and the older stars fade, they will signal to us a new dawn. I wondered how we would answer those lights. Maybe with some wonderful lights of our own.
I sat quietly next to my Father, thinking of these things, watching the stars unfold before us. Then I thought of little Carlos. What a smart little boy he was, now in the loving care of a new family. He will probably go to university and join Josie in the preservation of his world. Maybe he will start out counting frogs in the Amazon, or plankton in the world's oceans, or all living things on Earth to check on the health of his world. I could just imagine him with a jar full of frogs. I smiled to myself. Then I thought of the lovely red jewel in his hand. I wanted to go back to his world, to help him heal it. Somehow I knew it was my destiny to do so. At long last, lost in my thoughts, I answered the question I felt coming from the soul radiating love next to me.
"Yes, Father. It's a beautiful promise."

END.