He glanced at his companion frowningly, “Therefore, I am sure it is better to go south to the ocean. We definitely would not miss it, and then, moving along the coast we would not lose our course. In addition, we would enter the settlement from the correct side.”
Em didn’t object and specify anything, he simply agreed with his comrade, “Yes, especially as that is what we told Ifi, that we were going to the ocean.”
“Who could have foreseen that we would have to flee from Daf, Ider and their companion? And also those LC-1 cubs, the swamp, the lack of UDs…were we not just going to walk along the farm boundary and thus clearly know where we were going?” Bame tried to justify their failure.
Hearing these words, Em simply turned away from him and strode on. Frowning Bame at first watched him, but after a few seconds he followed his partner, caught up with him and then led the “squad,” as before.
They never climbed a tree. Instead, the travelers from time to time glanced up at the day star, which, already, clearly leaned toward the western horizon and, thus, had morphed into a perfect landmark. But if they’d climbed a tree, from its top they would have seen the mountain range, which the colonists called the Distant. They walked toward the ocean parallel to these mountains, on the eastern side. At the same time Omis also strode along the same ridge, only on the other side.
They advanced all the way to the ocean in almost complete silence. The two of them rarely exchanged words with each other unless they noticed anything suspicious. When they’d reached the sandy shore and examined the vast expanse, Ro had already touched the water’s edge. The like-minded people felt that, having arrived here, they’d finally found a way to the colony and now they could rest, at the same time having dinner by a bonfire. Then they remembered that afire couldn’t be kindled because their UDs were back in their current house.
While they ate, the planet Neia finally eclipsed Ro and the night immediately took up its duties. They decided that since they couldn’t make afire, they could only become guests of the trees. The proponents of natural selection each climbed onto their own plant and there they tied their backpacks between the branches.
In the morning, the allies ate the remaining corn tortillas and cheese, and washed it all down with water from their flasks. Then they went to the beach and resumed their journey along the surf line, on the wet, heavy, and hard sand. However, pretty soon they had to abandon this trail. Ro was getting hotter and the heat in the open was becoming unbearable. Therefore, the wanderers moved away from the water, entered the forest and continued their journey in the shade of the plants.
They had another reason to go into the woods. The partners decided that, walking along the edge of the forest, they would definitely not miss the thorny shrub. They would just stumble upon it. Indeed, as early as before noon, they came to an impenetrable barbed wall.
“Now we have to go back to the beach and from there, from a suitable distance, look for the hill, which is opposite the entrance to the corridor through these bushes,” Bame declared. His companion tacitly followed him, and soon they were walking across the brightly lit sand.
They strode about a couple of hundred meters, constantly moving away from the undergrowth and thereby approaching the waves, when finally, Bame noticed a familiar elevation. He slowed down and studied it briefly, apparently comparing it with the image in his memory. Then he said in an enlivened voice, pointing to the low sandy hill covered with rare plants, “I think we have reached it.”
His fellow traveler, who’d been basically looking under his feet, hiding his eyes from the bright light, began to raise his head to find out what his comrade had seen. But he didn’t manage to finish this movement. On the contrary, he even stopped and seemed to be petrified. At that moment, Bame turned to him, wanted to make sure that Em shared his opinion. Seeing the unexpectedly and strangely stiffened his companion, he stopped too and carefully looked around.
After a moment, Bame felt hot all over, as if he wasn’t already covered with sweat. In the sand, illuminated by the dazzling Ro, human footprints were clearly visible, slightly strewn with sand. They led from the ocean directly to that elevation. The comrades looked at each other in amazement.
“If they had decided to look for us, they would send a group, not one person.” After a long silence, Em spoke in a suddenly hoarsened voice.
They both continued to think, and at the end Bame said, “This, of course, is almost unbelievable, but what if this trace belongs to one of those who went for the crystal?” He unconsciously avoided mentioning the names of his rivals in the cause of founding a new humanity.
“How could any of them get here?” Em objected. “They went north, not south to the ocean.”
“We also planned to go north…the connection with them ceased, they probably also remained without screens and went astray,” Bame was trying to substantiate his hypothesis.
“We cannot know for sure,” Em replied, “Now we can only say that these footprints belong to a man.”
Bame thought, and said, “We need to go as fast as possible. Maybe we can catch up with the owner of these tracks. It is a pity that they do not belong to a female. Even if we kill this guy, there would still be one extra male in the colony.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“I do not know,” said Bame without confidence. “If he is the only survivor, and the rest are dead…does it make sense to kill him?”
Em also expressed his thought, “Moreover, we do not know if this guy has the crystal.”
In response, Bame only scratched his head.
“If he has the crystal, we cannot kill him,” Em answered his own question. “Am I right? We could not explain how we got the crystal into our possession.”
Bame shook his head, weighing his companion’s words.
“I do not know,” he said again. “Perhaps he does not have the glass. In that case, he can be killed…but if Mafkona is also dead, then…let us just try to catch up with this guy, ask him about his companions, and then decide what to do. We do not even know if he is actually from the expedition.”
In response, Em only nodded a few times in agreement and looked around. Here he noticed one more thing, and shared it with his companion: “Do you see these footprints? They come from the ocean. I wonder why?”
He thought, and Bame looked at him expectantly. Em said at last, “I do not know why he went into the ocean, but these tracks have prompted me to have a thought.”
After another short pause while he shook his head as if weighing something, he explained: “The corridor is very stuffy, and I think I need to prepare for this. I want to plunge into the water a couple of times and cool off. Moreover, we will not visit this place soon, if ever. How about you?”
At first Bame thought for a moment, and then he said, “If we want to catch him, we should hurry. We do not have time for swimming.”
Em replied, almost without hesitation: “If this guy was here a long time ago, we still would not catch up with him. But if he has been here recently and has no navigation, he will follow the border of spikes at a normal pace. On the contrary we will go quickly, and somewhere in the thicket we will come up with him. I will only hold us back for a couple of minutes. So, will you bathe?”
“No,” Bame answered resolutely, “I do not want to be wet.”
Em just nodded and headed toward the ocean. Before reaching the surf he laid his backpack and maser on the sand. Then he took off his clothes, sandals, and underwear, and placed them next to the other things. After that, he took several steps and entered the water.
Chapter 77
Ama crawled out of his hammock and first ascended to the top of the plant to determine the direction to Mafkona, who waited for him at the location slightly closer than the middle hill. Seeing the necessary landmark and looking at the position of Ro in the sky, he went back down to his things. Here he untied the backpack from the branches, assembled it and hung it on a bough sticking out of the trunk.
After that, he took the crystal billet out of the bag he’d made from his shirt. Opening the backpack valve, he placed the piece of mineral there and fastened the valve closed. Then he took the shirt from off of the plant and put it on. In the end, he carefully put his backpack on his back and began to descend to his maser.
He reached the lower limb and took his weapon that he’d left there the preceding night. At that moment he heard a hissing, followed by barely audible steps. Ama tensed. A minute later, under the tree appeared the harmless animal that the robots had first met on this planet and called the LH-1.
This animal couldn’t hinder Ama’s plan, so he simply jumped to the ground. The frightened creature wheezed and rushed into the forest, riding for a fall. The young man escorted it with a glance and then looked around. Nothing suspicious struck his eyes, so he went toward his goal without delay.
The scout strode faster and faster, but periodically climbing up the trees slowed him down. The glade where Mafkona’s tent stood was situated almost on a straight line between the hills, so the route had to be checked carefully, and often.
How is she? Will she be able to walk? What if not...? With every second, these questions sounded louder in his mind.
Finally he approached a cluster of large boulders. Yesterday, leaving the girl, Ama had thought that these could be the remnants of a large ridge. Perhaps so lofty that the snow had covered its tops, like the peaks of the mountains on Earth that he saw in photographs and on video.
Now there were no high mountains on the planet Neia. It was currently a quiet place without earthquakes and volcanoes. According to the calculations of terrestrial astronomers, such conditions would exist here for at least ten million years. After this, the star Rho, from being the originator of life on this planet would turn into its killer. During this period of time, mankind must take possession of another planet. The old planets and their inhabitants would remain in history as old civilizations had been on Earth.
And yet these stones had an importance to Ama not in regard to the astronomical eras, or with regard to the distant future, but because the meadow with the lake, where they’d erected the tent, adjoined them.
What had happened to Mafkona? What would he see there? Do the BLC-1 live there? These questions made Ama frown.
The last few meters, despite his extreme fatigue, the young man almost ran, forgetting to watch around. Another minute, and he’d reached the edge of the forest, then taken a few more steps and finally ended up in the meadow. Here, holding his breath, he glanced at the tent.
The scene that he saw evoked mixed emotions. The tent looked intact and the scout felt relief. But the two predators near it really alarmed him. One of them walked back and forth and the other sat in front of the entrance.
Ama realized that they were watching the tent, and that meant Mafkona was inside. But what had happened to her? Maybe the animals had wounded her badly and she was unconscious? Or maybe…?
The traveler, to his surprise, instantly got angry, and shouted at the predators as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice and then seeing him, the animals, although with obvious reluctance ran toward him, often looking back.
The scout also ran to meet the predators, and when he’d reduced the distance to them by about twenty steps, he stopped. Here he more or less took a breath and aimed at the larger animal. The next moment, the maser had placed a clot of electromagnetic energy in the body of the beast and it fell, as always, without any external damage, although its convulsive movements showed that it was dying. The other animal, of a smaller size, seeing the agony of its fellow, and not waiting for further events, turned around and ran into the forest.
Going closer, Ama finished off the agonizing animal. Then he raised his eyes and in the next instant, again unexpectedly, he experienced very strong emotions—great relief and at the same time boundless joy! The reason for these pleasant feelings, with a restrained smile, was peeping out from the half-open entrance. Then it completely opened and from out of it there came a completely naked Mafkona.
Ama opened his mouth in amazement. The next instant, his astonishment grew even bigger when, instead of talking to him, the girl shoved her head back into the tent and said, “Come out—now you can.”
After that, the surprised young man saw that in response to Mafkona’s words a small awkward animal had appeared from the tent. Seemingly a cub of the two LC-1, one of which he’d killed a minute ago. The scout instinctively aimed at this creature, but restrained himself at the last moment, lowering his weapon.
“Is this their puppy? How did he get into the tent? Why did you need to do this?” He deluged her with questions.
“I used it to diversify my stay in the tent. I touched it. I wonder if I should get a pulse of current because of that…?”the girl briefly answered his questions.
Ama just looked at her perplexedly.
Seeing this, Mafkona added, “I will tell you about all this in more detail during our trip, so let us not waste time now.”
The animal didn’t listen to their conversation. It broke into a run along the lake shore toward the flowering bushes. There, from the plants, its only surviving parent came out to meet it. The animals rubbed each other with their trunks and disappeared from sight.
Meanwhile Mafkona asked her own questions, “What have you achieved? What has happened to your cheek?”
Instead of answering, Ama took off his backpack and very carefully removed a piece of crystal from it. The natural glass glared dazzlingly in the rays of bright Ro. Then with his index finger, he pointed in turn at his scratched cheek and future lens.
“I will tell you during our march also,” he added to his pantomime.
“I think it has a shape very close to a magnifying glass. We have not experienced so many difficulties in vain,” Mafkona said, nodding.
In response, Ama reminded her, “Our trip is not ended yet, and who knows what waits for us? We need to walk another almost seven kilometers to the river. How is your leg?”
“In the morning I swam, and being in the water I did not feel the ache, but when I ran ashore I felt a sharp prick in my thigh, although this pain soon subsided. I think the water compresses helped me.”
Telling him this, Mafkona, like the cub, didn’t stay in one place, but went to her clothes. All this time, the young man gazed at her without taking his eyes from the girl even for a second.
“I like looking at your naked body. You have such an…enchanting hairy triangle under your belly, your breasts are so…tender, and your buttocks are pulling my hands to you like some kind of force field, I can barely hold them, and…you have turned out to be…so beautiful, it is really nice to look at you. I have even forgot about my tiredness and hunger.” The young man said this with a suddenly hoarse voice. He really couldn’t look away from her alluring figure, as if he hadn’t seen her naked countless times before.
After listening to his excited conversation, Mafkona attentively looked at him for a while, and then calmly said, “It is easy to not put my dress on, and to prolong your pleasure. The breeding process may be enjoyable, despite the fact that animals do not show any signs of pleasure during or after it. I mean, maybe the mating process itself is not very nice, but before it, all animals, including we humans, experience an irresistible craving for each other, and that ensures the creation of the next generation?”
The girl again thought for a little while and not finding the answer to her last question, she simply continued to reason, “However that may be, now the mastering of Neia also depends on our reproductive organs, and therefore we cannot use them without the permission of the LAI-5.”
In response to these words, Ama stared at Mafkona with a puzzled expression on his face, then slowly nodded in agreement and said, “Yes, we have a special life: on the one hand, we are the founders of a new civilization, and the owners of the entire planet, on the other hand, we do not even fully own our own bodies.”
The girl simply reminded him, “Right, but if we want to
become masters of our bodies, we must get to the colony.”
Hearing this, Ama slowly and reluctantly turned away from the girl, raised his head up to the sky and, seeing Ro, said, “I think we have a lot of time, but let us see how your foot behaves.”
“At least now I am fine, my leg does not hurt at all,” Mafkona uttered.
Chapter 78
Omis, sitting on the warm sand and finally having calmed down, examined the area. Ro’s rays, reflected by the giant planet, made it possible to clearly see the sandy coast bounded by black forest, about two hundred meters from the ocean. Only weak surf prevented the silence from having complete dominion.
The traveler knew the direction in which he should go, but now he was weighing whether to go or not, and where—near the water or near the forest? The wayfarer answered his own questions in turn. First, he obviously should move. After all, he couldn’t stand in one spot all night, nor could he sit or lie naked or in wet clothing on the sand. In addition, perhaps during his hike he might stumble on a cave or some other refuge. In regard to his path he also reasoned logically—dangerous creatures inhabited both the forest and the ocean, so he should walk along the middle of the beach.
Before continuing his journey, Omis took the quiver and the longbow from off of his back. He stuck the latter into the sand on one end, and then pulled his shirt out of the quiver. The young man squeezed it and hung it on the upper end of his weapon. After that, he turned the quiver upside down and, holding the arrows, poured the water out of it. Then he put on his still-wet shirt, and returned the bow and quiver to his shoulder.
He moved to the middle of the coastline and headed east. His journey stopped unexpectedly soon because of the viscous sand. It depleted the strength of the hungry and exhausted traveler with incredible swiftness. That forced him to think about how to get rid of this hurdle.
Space for Evolution Page 37
