by Thadd Evans
He raised an eyebrow, a surprised look on face. “Interesting. I never noticed it.”
After looking straight ahead, I noticed that the steep trail, a narrow one, went around a cliff.
Next to me, Greg opened his hand and ice fell off his glove, equipment he pulled on just after we left ST7. Greg muttered, “This freezing wind is a royal pain in the ass.”
Within two hours, during the morning, I stepped over a fallen icicle.
On my screen, text, a software alert, came out of the background. MMAK cannot create any more topographic trail maps.
The tablet couldn’t find the rest of the trail because it was hidden behind adjacent cliffs. I bit my lip, disappointed. “Greg, are the cliffs blocking your scans?”
“Yes. What rotten luck!” He frowned. “This thick mist doesn’t help either.”
I climbed over a slick rock. This part of the trail, just a ledge, was only six inches wide. An SLCD, a spring-loaded cam device, equipment attached to a line, flew out of my sleeve, went inside a crevice, and expanded.
I took several steps, knowing that if I slipped, I wouldn’t go over the edge because the line on my sleeve was securely attached to the device. After finding a secure foothold, the SLCD closed, making a soft popping noise, and retracted into my sleeve.
I rounded another bend as icy wind blew against my neck. I glanced behind me.
Several feet away, Yar hiked on, a blank expression on her countenance, making it impossible to tell if she was disappointed or optimistic. At the same time, her face mask turned light gray, blocking out excessive light.
How long could we keep climbing before everyone collapsed, too cold to go any further? I stared straight ahead.
Ahead of me, close by, the steep trail, a combination of snow covered boulders and flat spots became wider.
Later that day, afternoon shadows obscured most of the Xah. It would be dark soon. I looked behind me.
Downhill, about forty yards from me, mist partially obscured everyone’s hazy silhouettes. Because they were out of earshot, I spoke into my HMR. “Yar, how are you?”
“I’m tired.”
“Does everybody want to rest?” I paused.
“Yes.”
Tia sat down, glowering. The bottom of her face mask, an area around her mouth, opened, making it easier to eat a wafer.
I took a scanner off my sleeve and aimed it up the trail. The screen appeared. According to it, there was a big ledge beyond nearby boulders. I climbed and reached it.
Not far from me, Greg peered to the right and left, inspecting the area.
“This is a good place to camp for the night.” I banged one heel against a rock, knocking ice off my boots.
Greg nodded, a weary expression on his face.” A section of our backpacks moved onto our chests. He began removing wafers from it. “Jason, I’ll hand out food, and show everyone how to use their sleeping bags.”
“That’s fine.” I took wafers out of my backpack and began eating.
“My feet are cold.” He stomped, trying to increase circulation.
“So are mine. I hate this freezing wind.” My breath drifted away. I smiled, indicating that I agreed with him, and peered down the trail.
Close to us, everyone but Bemme was hiking slowly, headed this way.
According to my screen, she hadn’t sent me a message in the last two hours. Now I was worried. “Yar, have you seen Bemme in the last thirty minutes?”
“No. I saw her about forty-five minutes ago.”
“Yeliv?” I frowned.
“Forty minutes ago.”
“Palk, Paley?”
Near the front of Paley’s neck, tiny skin flaps popped out ten times, a gesture that meant fifty minutes ago.
Palk glanced over his shoulder, searching for her. “Roughly thirty minutes ago, I spotted her.”
Tia, a concerned tone, announced, “She was way behind Yeliv. That was about fifty minutes or so ago.”
She might have tripped and broken her leg. If she didn’t show up in a few minutes, I would search for her.
Greg offered bags of wafers to everyone. Then he decompressed the first sleeping bag, allowing it to expand while everyone gathered around him. After talking about the thermostat, Greg looked at Tia, smiling, something he hadn’t done in weeks.
I tossed my folded up seat to the ground. It expanded. I sat down, an open food container in hand.
Yar, her striped eyes barely noticeable in the dim light, placed a seat next to mine and sat down. “Jason, thonk yoou for the faood and the bags.”
“You’re welcome. By the way, your English is improving.”
“Thank you. My headset helps.”
“Good. My earplugs translate slowly. I don’t mean to be rude, but you have a thick accent. If you could speak more clearly, that would help.”
“I’m doing my best. Your language is difficult to understand.”
“That’s true. It is difficult.”
As Yar and I ate in silence, Greg started telling everyone about the camping equipment. At the top of his screen, English, Aito and Gdii instructions brightened. Yeliv, Palk, Paley and Tia began studying them.
Along Paley’s jaw, muscles bulged, a gesture indicating that the instructions were useful.
On Palk’s chin, a tiny skin flap rose. This was a response to Paley, one saying that Greg’s efforts were appreciated.
Near the bottom of Yeliv’s temple, a patch of ivory skin turned white. This change, one directed toward Paley and Palk, meant that he agreed with them.
Without warning, Yeliv turned toward me. Near the top of his cheek, a patch of skin became rougher. This gesture was asking me if I understood what he had just said to Palk and Paley.
I nodded. “I did.”
He smiled. “Good. You understood my last request as well. I’m impressed.”
I smiled but didn’t say a word. Although I had noticed their gestures before, it had taken a while to figure out that these movements were part a formal language, not just random responses.
“However, I should point out that if humans used more facial expressions it would help them share their desires more easily.”
I paused, curious about his question. “Don’t they have enough now?”
“I don’t believe so. Have you studied Ioos, the art of speaking, one that the Gdii use?”
“No.”
“Here is one example.” He raised his chin. Near the corners of his mouth, tiny indentations grew deeper, about a millimeter. “This expression means hello. There many more.”
I nodded. “I’ll try to learn them.”
“When we first met, it was hard to understand your statements because you didn’t use Ioos or any Mlaan gestures, just Gdii text messages.”
“Was my face too rigid?”
“It moved a little. However, just about every phrase in Ioos comes from Haoly’s songs, ones referring to birth, life, and death in farms along the Iy Na River.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Isn’t the Iy Na in Pl 5’s northern hemisphere, close to the Yaat Desert?”
Along his temple, a narrow slit expanded. “Yes. It’s amazing that you know this.”
I smiled. His head gesture’s message was identical to his verbal response. “I try.” For over thousand of years, pilgrims had come to the Iy Na, seeking inspiration and friendship.
He paused.
I asked why both were similar.
He grinned. “You noticed. It’s a joke. Sometimes, Gdii do this because they don’t think anyone is paying close attention to them.”
“Interesting.”
He frowned. “It’s hard for me to imagine a life like yours, traveling all the time, not having a home.”
“I have mixed emotions about it too. However, years ago, when we, Greg and I, were flying over Vais, an ocean on the planet Cyan, I noticed a school of Aiq, These huge starfish are the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen.
“In the Ecit, a jungle on Red Ten, orchids are as tall as I
am. They’re amazing.”
He grinned and walked away.
“Yar, are you cold?” I glanced at her.
“Yem.” She grinned and started eating.
“I don’t understand.”
“Yem.” She pressed her sleeve-mounted keypad.
I hesitated, waiting for an answer.
“Yes, I…am caold,” she whispered, mispronouncing one word.
Yeliv, Palk and Paley walked toward me. Yeliv knocked ice off his sleeve. “Jason, we’re still hungry.”
“No problem.” I handed them more food containers.
“Geda,” Yeliv said, a friendly tone.
My earplugs translated, offering a recording. Thank you.
Close to the top of Palk’s cheek, a skin flap extended, indicating that he had a question. Then he glanced at Yeliv. Yeliv began whispering, talking to him.
Near the top of Yeliv’s screen, Gdii phrases scrolled. Yq, rz, uun, iy. He glanced at Palk.
After all three of them exchanged glances, concerned expressions on their countenances, Yeliv, Palk and Paley walked away, hiking toward the opposite end of the ledge.
Yar began eating condensed denso apples.
“Yar, we don’t talk much. Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” I smiled.
“For the most part, Niil, my language, is very different from yours. When you speak, your words are spread out, muted. Although my earplugs can decipher everything you say, they do it slowly.”
I nodded. “Keep going.”
“I was translating on P L Five, one of my many duties as the Niil Ambassador for that planet. However, my desire to understand the Qoowo, the Aito, the Turon and others more thoroughly ended when the war escalated. As a result, I couldn’t achieve my long-term goal, a plan to improve relations between the Niil, Aito, Qoowo, Gdii, Mlaan, Dseo and Glemal. Those races know very little about mine.
“Just over six weeks ago while I was in a classroom, we heard a bomb explode. The students and I ran outside and watched as LN starships dropped more bombs on the school campus. Then everyone sprinted over a hill and all of us scattered.
“Within an hour, three of us, including me, entered a forest because we didn’t think LN robots or their ships would find us. We hiked for four days and found a wrecked Turon Series Two. Everyone on board was dead.
“That evening, we climbed over a mountain, reached a plateau, and found an Aito Series One vessel. After we began speaking to the pilot, we heard a bomb, one that was dropped by a ship we couldn’t see, explode. Fearing for our lives, all of us entered the crowded vessel, and it took off.
“After the Series One reached P L Five’s stratosphere, it joined a small fleet of Glemal Series Two vessels. A few hours later, missiles hit two nearby ships, destroying both of them. A missile struck our port wing, but we reached Brynin.
“After the three of us entered the terminal, we heard rumors about approaching LN ships. Several Aito men and Qoowo women said there might be an invasion.
“Several days later, LN robots arrived, and killed both of my students. I wandered through a crowd, trying to escape, and noticed your sign and hesitated because the price of your ticket was very high.
“Then I looked outside and realized that ST Seven was the only undamaged craft left.All the other ones had been destroyed. While I was waiting, I overheard someone say that many interstellar vessels were shot down before they reached Brynin. At that point, I ran outside, headed for ST Seven.
“I hope to reach Icir and continue my work as an ambassador. Right now, I can’t contact anyone there.”
“Sorry to hear it.”
She nodded.
“Tell me more about the Niil language.”
Yar respondedin a hopeful tone, “It’s assisted by Heta waves, moving forms that undulate around your face.”
“What are they?”
“They are a gift that we, the Niil, have. It is impossible to translate exactly, but it helps us monitor your comprehension as the infrared heat waves float around your head and body. The Heta waves work in combination with our echolocation. In other words, when we speak, our words bounce off the infrared heat that your body emits.
“As a result, we understand your moods, sadness, happiness and other feelings more thoroughly. Heta waves and echolocation aren’t always accurate. I’ll demonstrate a few of them. The first is a simple greeting.” She raised her forefinger.
I said, a disappointed tone, “Is that it?”
“Remember, it is infrared.”
My left eye switched to that mode. Much to my surprise, light waves were radiating from the tip of her forefinger, spreading out in concentric globes, a new one every second. “Amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Here is another gesture. It’s a greeting for a friend.” She extended all of her fingers. At the tips of each digit, concentric globes began spreading out. Then they collided with each other, creating thousands of 3-D interference patterns, similar to the patterns on a pond.
I blinked, speechless, unsure of what to say.
“This gesture means, “I trust you.’” She aimed her palm at my face and heat, a soothing sensation, floated across my countenance.
I rubbed my hand across my chin, wondering how she had warmed it. “As far as I know, the Niil are the only beings who communicate this way.”
“It’s true. Someday, I’ll show you other gestures and discuss our vocabulary. Right now, you aren’t ready.”
“When will I be ready?” I paused, curious.
“Maybe a couple of years. It’s hard to say. From time to time, I’ll send you messages about it.”
“I look forward to the messages.” I wondered if my TLS2, the software in my earplugs had translated everything that Yar said as she intended it. Could I ever understand the rest of the Heta waves? Unfortunately, the rest of the Niil language, nearly a million words, consisted of hissing and clicking sounds.
She grinned.
“Did you talk to Yeliv and the other passengers?”
“Yes. I’ve spoken to everyone but Pohum and Bemme because they usually have kept to themselves.”
“Did Yeliv talk about the floating settlements?”
“Yes, on several occasions. There were nineteen of them. Each one, a well-designed structure, was destroyed.”
“I need to find Bemme.” I wiped snow off my leg. “She may be hurt.”
Yar blinked, nervous.
“I hope this won’t take long.” I held my fingers over my tablet. It sent a message to Greg, telling him I was going to search for Bemme.
“I should tell you that she threatened to kill me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I flinched, shocked.
“I thought she would hurt me or someone else if I said anything.”
“Did you speak to Greg about it?”
“No. I’ll do that soon.”
I stood. Greg looked at me and nodded—he had seen my message about searching for Bemme. I started down the trail.
“Be careful!” Greg shouted.
“See you in a few minutes.” I raised my left hand, acknowledging his comment, and continued on.
After going by gnarled branches, I made up my mind. It was time to tell Bemme to stop threatening anyone. She had always been nice to me, but I rarely spoke to her. Greg never complained about Bemme. Perhaps she had threatened the others and they hadn’t told me because all of them were frightened.
I remembered Deat. Now it was even more obvious that I couldn’t screen passengers accurately.
Moments later, after my face mask closed, I hiked by ochre colored boulders. It was darker on this part of the trail. My shoulder-mounted flashlight switched on. I stepped into ankle deep snow. Fifty feet farther down the trail, a three-foot tall white kangaroo-like creature dashed behind a boulder. I hiked toward it, curious.
After circling a pile of ice, I looked up—the creature sprinted away from me and disappeared in the shadows.
Near the bottom o
f my screen, text expanded, making it easier to read. The Dwate and Twan have similar chromosomes. The Twan lives on Gresl, an island in Litor’s western hemisphere. No other information is available.
I wasn’t interested. It was more important to find Bemme.
I continued on, glanced to the left and spotted a silhouette, a dimly lit head shape in the snow. I aimed my flashlight at the shape. The beam illuminated Bemme’s head, the upper half of her torso, left arm and hand! The rest of her body was gone! At the bottom of her torn jumpsuit, blood kept dripping off several broken ribs. I glanced up and noticed her staring eyes, a vacant look in them.
As my adrenaline started pumping, a nervous reaction, I raised the flashlight, trying to find the rest of her body. The beam illuminated boulders. The body was nowhere in sight. Did the Dwate kill her? I wasn’t sure.
After hesitating, I climbed. It was time to warn the others before a Dwate or some other creature attacked them.
Another concern came to mind. If a beast was watching me, about to attack, the only way to stop it was by hitting it with my flashlight or a heavy object. I grabbed a large rock and glanced over my right shoulder, searching for the Dwate.
There were only sienna boulders and snow. Nothing moved.
Despite a face mask, my nose and cheeks were tingling with chill. As the icy wind blew harder, both of my eyes started watering. I slowed down because it was difficult to see clearly. If a Dwate attacked me from behind, I couldn’t see it.
I peered to the right.
There were only boulders, no creature.
I climbed faster. After stepping over branches, I leaned forward, grabbed overhead rocks, and pulled myself up. The wind blew snow onto my face mask, making it harder to see. I paused and wiped the snow off.
Feeling concerned that the skin on my mechanical left arm might break off because it was cold, I reached down, and pulled the glove part way off. Artificial skin peeled off the top of the palm, revealing several rows of carbon nanotube conduits. The skin would have to be repaired later.
I pushed the glove down and continued on as my head began spinning, I was tired. It was time to rest. I sat down while my empty stomach growled louder.
