by neetha Napew
Then Sean Shongili, as the resident eco-biologist, delivered his short address in a concise and very reassuring manner.
Colonel Yanaba Maddock-Shongili, co-administrator for, and in the name of, Petaybee, spoke of her experiences with the entity and her knowledge, based on a long and impressive military career with Intergal itself, that sentience came in many forms and this one differed only in size, and could certainly not be assumed to be less intelligent than any others. Namid Mendelsky’s testimony was an unexpected bonus, a complete corroboration of all the others had said, but with the additional weight of his scientific acumen and his professional standing in the field of astronomy.
The astronomer had spent every possible minute in the Kilcoole communion cave, conversing with Petaybee.
‘The thing we must all remember about a planet awake barely two hundred years, gentlepersons, is that it is still a baby. While necessarily volcanic in temperament,’ he paused for their laughter, ‘Petaybee shows unusual gentleness and restraint in dealing with most problems and persons. It had told me that it regards anyone on or anything that happens on its surface or inside of it as an extension of itself, and makes what it feels are the necessary adjustments. It had queried me, for instance, on the physical aspects of the rest of the universe, though the nature of the universe seems to be something it understands instinctively.’
‘Excuse me, Doctor,’ one incredulous juror had asked. ‘But how exactly does it tell you that?’
‘Six months ago, I understand, it would not have done, which is a sign of how remarkably fast it can respond to certain stimuli. With the current crises caused by the outside threat from the Company and others seeking to utilize its resources before the planet has quite discovered them, the planet rapidly developed a direct means of communication. Its mineral content contains the same substances used in storing sounds for reproduction in computer equipment. The planet has always absorbed the words of those who speak within its walls - it stores the words and, like a baby, regurgitates them as echoes at what it deems to be appropriate times. Sister Igneous Rock and I have been having daily prolonged conversations with the planet, and like any child, its vocabulary and communication skills have grown as a result. Local people have always gone to these inner spaces, they say, to include the planet in the seasonal and critical events of their lives. It should be noted, and you may question them on this matter, that when Colonel Maddock and her companions carried small talismanic bags of Petaybean soil gleaned from the inner caves, they felt not only psychological comfort, but also some form of telepathic communication with the planet. This is not hard to imagine, given the telepathic links between humans and animals, animals and other animals (as witnessed by many in the incident involving the Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company on the Southern Continent), and occasionally, as in an earlier incident, plants, the planet and human and animal agencies. Such links are so close that I personally am led to agree with Petaybee that, in fact, everything that comes within its atmosphere is part of the life of a highly complex and diversified organism consisting not only of minerals and elements, but of every living thing that comes in contact with its surface. This tremendous telepathic linkage and the need for “adjustment” of initially outside organisms to the planet are why Petaybee has at times had such a devastating effect on some humans. Perhaps in time this will be modified. Anything is possible.’
‘Anything is possible?’ asked one of the more literal-minded jurors. ‘Is this all there is to your theory? Have you no more definite conclusions?’
‘I have, as well as recommendations that I think the Petaybean inhabitants will agree with. The planet has infinite potential beyond anything I’ve ever seen, experienced or heard of in my career. However, it is a growing, developing entity and it must be nurtured and encouraged in finding its own best uses and values. New immigration must be monitored and numbers controlled so as not to overwhelm the available resources and, most particularly, so that newcomers to the planet can become properly acclimatized and adjusted without harmful after-effects.’
Admiral General Sevilla-Dove was inclined to believe Mendelsky, though the opinion was not exactly what he had expected from an astronomer. But the Admiral General had noticed how the mist seemed to thicken on the floor when the locals spoke. And the air in the Hall also was fragrant with scents he only barely remembered from his childhood.
This meeting was really only a formality and Farringer Ball whacked the gavel that made the whole thing right and tight in just under an hour and a half, the Admiral General noted.
Then the formal meeting was thrown open to specially invited guests and a meal of finger foods, accompanied by a local drink called ‘blurry’, were handed round in celebration.
The ‘invited’ seemed to be everyone on the planet, which might explain why the Arrivals Hall on a barely terraformed iceball in the middle of nowhere was as large as it was. For certainly people were not thronging to visit, or even vacation, on Petaybee in numbers that would require such a massive facility.
Then a gaggle of musicians took their places on the dais where Farringer Ball had officiated. Their music was subtly enhanced in a fashion which kept one of his aides, who was musically inclined, trying to find out where the accoustical augmentations were hidden. The Admiral General waited the customary courteous hour and then made his farewells.
He did spend a few minutes congratulating the Shongilis on their officially acknowledged status and he hoped that the planet would prosper. (How warm air could be blown up trouser legs securely tucked into his boots, Sevilla-Dove did not know, but when it reached his crotch, he was surprised and… relieved.)
The fact that his aides also had experienced unusual physical pleasures did not impinge on his feeling that he had been specially singled out for the attentions.
The Admiral General and his aides were the only members of CIS who did leave. But then they wouldn’t have understood how important today’s songs would be. The Hepatode and the Deglatite might not have been able to eat or drink but they each found a corner from which to watch the curious antics of the Petay-beans.
Marmion had arrived sometime during the investiture and had much to regale her friends about certain ‘loose ends’ she had seen tied in appropriate knots prior to her return.
‘Macci was all but skint, despite his excellent salary with Rothschild’s,’ she told Yana, Diego and Bunny. ‘Actually, it was Charmion, of all people, who found out that he’s a gambling addict. He gambles for and on anything that anyone will take book on. And you know how some species regard betting as the only honourable form of entertainment. He was so deeply in debt that when… oh dear, it was Dinah again who made the contact… how is she?’
‘Much better. Remarkably so, in fact. Except for her hair, which she calls her new platinum blond look, she looks as good as she did before the cave - better in fact. Happier, certainly. Any place else, people would resent her but apparently in Tanana Bay she’s a bit of a celebrity, and thoroughly enjoying it. Chumia says she is writing a great song about her pirating days and how Petaybee got the best of her. And men who want to replace Namid are turning up on the doorstep from as far away as Katmandu, but Dinah doesn’t seem too eager to go rushing off. I think she enjoys having family near too much and having the chance to find out who she is without always having to scramble for something. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my word on the safe passage I guaranteed her and her crew, but I did tell her all along I couldn’t speak for the planet.’
‘What happened to all of them was no fault of yours, Yana. It was a direct result of being who and what they were. In spite of everything, it was the good part of Dinah’s nature that preserved her.’
‘The planet as the ultimate character-building experience, eh? I suppose so. Still, a bit rough at times,’ Yana said. It wasn’t so much that she felt any remorse towards the pirates as that her own honour was important to her. Dinah seemed to bear no ill will, however, arid Yana had quite forgiven her now that she was
so changed. ‘Muktuk and Chumia are even letting her hunt on her own these days. So Macci was the victim of his own excesses?’
‘And willing to clear a few debts by leading us into danger.’ The set of Marmion’s lips suggested that she wasn’t quite as forgiving as Yana. ‘Pies, I’m relieved to say, was totally innocent. Her only sin was wanting to show him off without investigating his background thoroughly. Though how he managed to delude the Rothschild Personnel Bureau is a matter under the strictest scrutiny, I can assure you. Asian Esoteric and Exotic Company is having all its activities investigated to see if there have been other ecologically unsound “harvests”. It’s been quite exciting, really. But I’m so glad to be back here,’ and she tightened her hand on Namid’s arm. ‘If you simply have to stay and talk every day to Petaybee, I guess I’ll just have to ask permission to immigrate.’
‘Oh, we’ll have to enquire if that’s possible,’ said Sean with a very serious expression.
‘Sean!’ his wife chided him. And then he laughed, giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek, and grinned at Marmion and Namid.
‘As if we dared take Namid away from his educational duties with Petaybee!’ Then he pointed. ‘Ah, the best is about to begin.’
After the custom of latchkay singings on Petaybee, Buneka Rourke accompanied Diego Metaxos to the dais.
‘Diego has a song to sing,’ she said with more than her customary dignity and the assembled Petaybeans settled down to listen.
Diego’s song was different from any other Petaybean song. It was neither a chant nor an old Irish melody with new words but a tune all his own, with Irish and Spanish influences and the beat of the Inuit as well, but also hints of the music of the other peoples of Petaybee and parts beyond. It spoke of growth and change, pain and discovery, the pain that had accompanied the awakening of the planet, the near-death of his father, the actual deaths of others, the cost of too much change too quickly to Petaybee, but how good a thing the change could be if it altered someone as it had Dinah O’Neill. And lastly, it spoke of his fear of change if it meant losing Bunny. He concluded with a hope that he could be like the planet and let the changes awaken himself and his beloved to lives limitless in possibility for adventure and love.
There was a chorus to this song, with its repetitive theme of change and growth, and on every chorus, the voices of the people were joined by another voice, a big, melodious, joyous voice that contained all of theirs in a resonance of its own.
The kaleidoscope turns
The patterns change
All we learn
That once was strange
Some will go and some will stay
Some will cling, some turn away
Some will wither, some will grow
New friends come and old friends go
Seeds and saplings, kit and pup
Some grow down and some grow up
Some fly away and some touch down
While Petaybee planet spins around…
The ‘around’ echoed particularly long and happily throughout the rest of the latchkay.
Epilogue
Contents - Prev
Oddly enough it was the word ‘come’ invading her dreamless sleep as an undeniable imperative that woke Yana. And, the rumbling purr of the orange cat, Marduk, unexpectedly sitting right beside her head on the pillow. She felt the muscles in her belly shifting, not painfully, but definitely contracting, and she woke Sean. The cat jumped off the bed and stood imperiously by the door - as if she hadn’t guessed what needed to be done.
‘It’s time. I’ve been called,’ she said. He was up and half dressed before she could swing her legs to the side of the bed. But then, advanced pregnancy had slowed her once quick precise movements to awkward rumblings which she sometimes resented.
Sean grabbed up the fine polar bear rug that Loncie had given her and threw it about her shoulders. He picked up the satchel which contained the necessary items and opened the door.
Nanook was there and Clodagh had her foot on the bottom step.
‘I wondered…’ she began, smiling in the dawnlight up at Yana.
When Yana and Sean reached the ground - the path to the cave well trampled in preparation for this moment - Clodagh moved to her other side. ‘Do you feel like walking?’ Clodagh asked.
‘It’s good for me.’
‘Yes, but is it what you feel like doing?’
‘Well, I have to walk as far as the cave, don’t I?’
‘Yes,’ Sean said. ‘That you must do.’
Looking sideways, Yana saw that Sean’s lips were tight against the anxiety he was feeling.
‘It’s OK, Sean,’ she said gently, patting his hand. ‘It’s really OK. Hell, we know I’ve never been fitter.’
‘But you are not, so Sister Iggierock says, in your first youth.’
‘Iggierock has learnt a great deal,’ Clodagh said with a chuckle.
And then they were in the cave which began to glow, a soft lambent one, welcoming, soothing and the little twitch of apprehension which Yana had so vocally denied eased.
I believe in you, she told the planet. I believe in you.
‘Yes, believe,’ the planet said.
‘Oh, I believe,’ Sean said beside her since he must have thought the planet was speaking to him.
They reached the spot that had been previously picked and the bedding and other necessities were there. They had no need of the extra lights, for the cavern was radiant.
Clodagh helped Yana slip out of her flannel nightgown and then the first of the strong contractions caught her.
‘Breathe as you’ve been taught,’ Clodagh said, waiting until the contraction had eased before she led Yana to the water’s edge.
Sean dived in and broke the water as a selkie, came to the two women, both of whom were now in the warm comfort of the water. Yana slipped down into it, found the ledge that seemingly had been created to cushion her while Clodagh made herself secure just below Yana.
The mist began to rise then, but only on the ground behind them. Yana inhaled deeply of the scented, comforting moist air. The next contraction was harder, yet she didn’t feel it as ‘hard’ only as a working of muscles. She could relax. Petaybee was all around her, and her husband was as he wished to be at this propitious moment in his life, this miraculous moment of hers, and Clodagh would see to everything healing as she always did.
A furred face stroked hers from out of the mist and she laughed when she realized it was Nanook - yes, and there was Marduk, too, and the gods knew how many more purring mightily in the cave for it echoed of ‘purr’.
Another massive contraction which Yana, for one second apprehensive, thought much too soon in a normal delivery. Then she found herself wanting to push and panted as she’d been taught.
‘It’s much too soon for this stage,’ she said between pantings.
‘Well, you never know,’ Clodagh said comfortingly. ‘We’ve been here longer than you might realize.’
‘But we… just… got… here.’ Clodagh chuckled again and then was very busy, between Yana’s legs underwater. The water itself was bright, so Yana was able to view her upheld legs on Clodagh’s shoulders and know that the woman was submerged. Sean’s furred flipper-hand was on her knee and then a mighty convulsion and Clodagh came up out of the water, holding her hands up and Yana saw a silvery furred baby body in the capable palms.
‘Your son, Shongili,’ Clodagh cried and the cats gave voice to the most musical caterwaul possible, sounds not generally considered feline or musical but were a voluntary of welcome.
‘Oh my god,’ and Yana’s body wanted to repeat its previous confusion.
A naked furry wet body was thrust into Yana’s hands as Clodagh ducked under the water again while Yana, consumed with a second mighty pushing, realized she was delivering a second selkie child.
‘How did that happen?’ she exclaimed as Clodagh surfaced with yet another squirming baby, this one already squalling at its lack of precedence.
‘You’ve a fine family all in the one go,’ Clodagh said, water sheeting off her smiling face.
‘Did you know I’d be having twins?’ Yana exclaimed, half of her appalled that that information had been withheld while the other half of her was marvelling at the perfection of her selkie son who, minutes old as he was, was already altering his form to human now he was out of the water.
Clodagh gave a snort, hauling herself and the baby out of the water. ‘And you as big as a whale and didn’t guess?’
‘How could I guess? I’ve never been around pregnant women. Oh, he’s gorgeous… oh, oh…’ and suddenly Yana realized her son was completing his alteration to a totally human baby. Then Clodagh was holding her selkie daughter out of the water and the same phenomenon was occurring on that precious body. Sean selkie was embracing her, and the children,-his silver eyes wide with wonder and blinking water.
They made a tableau then, the mother, father, children and midwife, selkie and human. Then all were totally human as Sean lifted himself out of the water. Now Yana realized why the planet had insisted on this birthplace and how easy it had made what could have been a very difficult session for her. Petaybee was learning, too. Namid said the thing to remember about a planet only a bit over two hundred years old was that it, too, was a baby. Every time it had a conversation or experience, it learned, grew, expanded its potential. As he probed for its secrets, it had questions of its own for him on the nature of what lay beyond it.
By the time the afterbirth had been expelled and Yana was able to emerge from the water, she was flat-bellied and lithe again.
Holding both arms out in gratitude, she thanked Petaybee, her words coming out almost as a latchkay song.
‘Thank you for the birthing. It was painless.
Thank you for my strong son and my fine daughter.
Thank you for their changing. Thank you for everything.’
