“Because if you cannot promise me that, you will have to leave, as will your father. I cannot risk loose tongues.”
“Okay, I’m listening to too much sorrow through there. There must be people needing our help!” said Garlldt. “Surely this can wait, whoever is in there sounds like they need our help now!”
Illary shut him off saying, “Chief Listener Cunac. Please, can you take the vow with them so they realise how serious this is! It makes our previous discussions seem almost irrelevant.”
Cunac just stared at Illary with wide eyes and an open mouth trying to find words. The way Illary had used his formal title had left him dumbfounded, like a mother using her child’s full name. What in the name of the Garden could she mean… Everyone else was looking from Illary to their leaders getting increasingly confused and concerned.
“Chief Listener Cunac, now please!” insisted Illary.
Cunac finally snapped out of the spell realising he was supposed to act.
“Right, I need you all to raise your right hand to your chest, that’s it palm to your chest. Left hand out and open as if ready to receive.”
Principal Cauca found himself following along automatically although he had already taken the vow he was completely in the spell of the moment. The sobs and occasional scream could still be heard but now a quieting voice could also be heard. A hushing calming voice. He then realised it was Ted’s voice. Ted, his brother was in there. Now more concerned than ever Principal Cauca wanted to run through that door but he was held firm by his sacred duty which only just overpowered his fraternal concern.
Cunac was saying, “I vow to listen with my head and heart.”
The others were repeating after him.
“I vow to listen with my head and heart.”
“I vow to listen to learn.”
“I vow to listen to learn.”
“With my head and my heart I will listen.”
“With my head and my heart I will listen.”
“With new understanding I will share to benefit.”
“With new understanding I will share to benefit.”
“My allegiance lies with Pachamama.”
“My allegiance lies with Pachamama.”
“Right,” shouted Illary, this stopped Principal Cauca halfway to the door. “Yes, Ted is there and he is okay.” Principal Cauca visibly relaxed a little. Chief Listener Cunac’s head spun between to Principal Cauca, Illary and back again now more confused. He had not recognised Ted’s voice.
Illary continued, “Through that door there are five visitors. They MUST be treated as such. They are okay but cannot understand us. They are confused, very upset and angry. If they are awake…” She added the last bit almost to herself as two of the five visitors had been unconscious when she had last seen them.
“You have just pledged allegiance to Pachamama. It is vital that you listen only when you walk through that door. You cannot repeat any of what you see outside of temple complex. So there is no misunderstanding that includes my workshop, the towers or the gathering rooms. You are about to join a new Guild.” Illary was on a roll and could not stop herself. But it did seem appropriate. “The Guild of The Punku. It is our duty to protect them and their secrets. For if misused these secrets could destroy us. Uma Da’Cince has said so himself.”
This made all present take Illary very seriously. Secrets were an anathema to DiPachan society and went against the sharing culture that was central to the society’s success. It was believed that it was HuñuyPacha’s secret scheming that had lost WaytaPata long ago. To brazenly ask to keep something like this a secret must mean it is extremely dangerous and significant if the Uma feared the knowledge.
Cauca gave her a sideways look and almost looked impressed. This scientist was paraphrasing the Uma. But Cauca was sure that he would have agreed with Illary’s conclusion if he had been there himself. A scientist politician? Cauca smiled to himself.
“These visitors are from the realm of WaytaPata. My team recently confirmed its presence.”
Cauca was stunned and stopped daydreaming of scientist politicians. Cunac looked horrified and terrified. The five newcomers were awestruck and rooted to the spot.
For the benefit of the five volunteers Illary said, “They are not the Guardians of the Garden Realm we had imagined. They are scared and terrified people plucked from the world they knew to one they cannot have ever heard of. I need you to listen to those words. Hear them and share the warmth of a Pachamaman welcome.
“One of my team will be here shortly with Babel devices so that they can understand us. Another member of my team, Ella, will be setting up the base of this tower as a safe place for these people.” Illary emphasised the word people. She did not want anyone imbuing them with powers they did not have. “I say again these people need to be helped to a safe place where we can explain the situation. Does anyone have any questions?”
No one did. They stood there looking, no staring, at Illary in disbelif.
“Now, okay, there are three women and two men. They are in clothes I do not recognise. Two were unconscious when I was last in there.”
Illary opened the door and they went through. There were indeed five people. Four now awake and sobbing. They were huddled together in a protective group around their unconscious friend. Ted was close by crouched down to their level trying to calm them. His hands were out in front of him, palm up in the listening gesture.
One of the five had produced a thin round object. White and conical in shape. It was smoking as if on fire. He was putting it to his mouth and breathing in the smoke, breathing it in as if his life depended on it. He then held his breath for what seemed like an age. The Pachamamans had never seen anything like it. Eventually he breathed out, relaxed and seemed to stare glassy-eyed with a wide stupid grin at those who had now entered the quadrant. He gently passed the smoking white tube to a fellow of his who repeated the process. Whatever they were doing it was calming them down. A sweet aroma like nothing Illary had smelled before was washing over her and her team, the new and much larger Guild of The Punku.
7Shock and Awe - Part 3
A few moments after entering the dream state again, Chris emerged from the trance. This time the colour drained from his cheeks. This was too much. Not only had he been through his own ordeal but in a very short time he was also reliving the fear the Others seemed to have experienced as well as the wonder and sheer befuddlement that the DiPachan Society felt towards his home realm. It was like the most realistic immersive VR game he could have imagined.
He kept wondering whether Barney, his tech geek friend from home, was playing some kind of ridiculous trick on him with the wildest VR simulator he could have dreamed of. He pinched himself hard in a couple of random places. It hurt like hell. The bruises that resulted seemed real enough to Chris. This was not the work of Barney playing some sick prank.
As she had done before, Adrii sat in silence next to him letting Chris process everything. Not pressuring him for a response or his interpretation of what he had seen and learned.
Chris appreciated this, only when he recalled that morning many days later. At the time he was feeling slightly sick. The gentle flow of the river as it went by and the warming sun was calming him, a paler and whiter sun than the brilliant yellow sun of Earth. A slight cool breeze bringing the scents of the river and flowers provided a welcome distraction from the racing thoughts in his mind.
Adrii took a bite out of one of the pieces of fruit they had picked. The sudden noise of the squelchy bite and slurping sound as Adrii sucked the rich juices kicked Chris back to the moment. He turned and looked at Adrii. Not saying anything, Chris just looked at Adrii. Someone who had become so familiar and someone who he had had to trust his life to. Adrii and her friends had done so without knowing him or his friends without hesitation. He felt such a deep connection to those people now, they were no aliens. He was sure the same blood ran through their veins as his.
Momentarily Chris thought of al
l his friends that had been pulled into this mess and those he missed from home. Images of them rushed across his own memories. Not the memories of people he’d never met. He owed Adrii and her friends, her people, so much.
The sheer enormity of the situation settled heavily on him like the weight an ocean. He felt homesick. Never having experienced such a feeling, this was the last straw; he broke and wept, purging all emotions from himself. He wept for a long time.
Adrii got up and walked across the small river beach to the high river mark that was lined with small plants making the most of the dry season and flowering before the waters returned. Chris noticed her movement as he began to regain control. He had been shocked and surprised at the sudden outpouring of emotions that he'd bottled up. He felt embarrassed but cleansed. The flood gates had well and truly opened. He'd never lost control like that and suddenly he felt very self-conscious. Was crying acceptable in this world?
He noticed Adrii starting to dig. After few seconds she pulled up a plant with small purple bell shaped flowers. It reminded him of the bluebells that grew at home however the root Adrii had carefully dug up and was holding in her hands, reminded him of a brown carrot. Chris’s self-consciousness was slowly being replaced by curiosity. Adrii had paid him no attention after all. She walked the few metres to the river's edge and washed off the root. As she did so it began to take on a purple colour like that of the flowers. Snapping the flowers from the root she then broke the root in two and walked back up to Chris, who had become transfixed by the simple but purposeful actions.
“Here, take this and copy me,” she said handing Chris half the root and half the flowers. Chris took them without question.
Adrii laid the root across her palm and the flowers over the root. Placing her second hand over the top of the first she rolled the root and flowers together like rolling dough into a sausage shape. Chris copied and felt the soft flowers crush against the hard root. His hands suddenly felt slightly sticky as the juices oozed from the flowers. Watching Adrii, Chris saw her smile sweetly back at him reassuring him. Calmly she lifted the sticky purple root to her mouth. End first, she slowly slid it almost all the way into her mouth and sucked, her eyes closed and she smiled with obvious pleasure.
Chris’s eyes popped and he flushed red, very glad Adrii’s eyes were also closed, and horrified at his own mind. Taking a breath to calm himself and think clean thoughts he shrugged and copied Adrii. No one could see him and his self-conscious self was very glad of that!
Chris found the shock to his senses overwhelming. It was one of the most pleasant surprises of his life. A sweet yet slightly salty and chocolatey creamy taste flooded his mouth which watered almost uncontrollably. Chris’s eyes shut involuntarily as he swallowed with pleasure. This sent a warm energising feeling through his whole body. Like velvety caffeine coursing through his veins. Having no idea he was smiling like a Cheshire cat he continued to suck and swallow the excruciatingly pleasant liquid from the root until no more of the rich juices flowed into his mouth.
All sense of impropriety and sorrow were long forgotten. Chris’s self-consciousness had been overwhelmed.
“Is that better?” Asked Adrii after a short while.
Chris could not talk for a further few moments. “Yes,” he finally managed.
Adrii grinned at him. “I thought that might help,” she said with teasing lilt. “That root is a special plant we reserve for special occasions. The happiness it brings can help relieve sadness or increase a celebration. But we only use it sparingly. Do you think it would improve your friends’ moods?”
“Yes!” replied Chris far too quickly and enthusiastically. Checking himself, he continued more calmly, “Yes, it would cheer them up.” He did not trust himself to say anything more.
“Good. Can you help me collect two? We’ll need to be quick as they only work when they're fresh. As soon as the root wilts and loses its hardness it is no good.
Chris looked down at his half of the root that had once been a hard carrot shape. It was now a shrivelled mess. Immediately he flushed red again. Adrii did not seem to notice him or understand what she was saying.
Making an excuse Chris said, “Is it okay if I wash my face in the river?” He still had tear-stained cheeks but mostly wanted to hide his flushed face from Adrii and was suddenly terrified and thrilled by the idea of sharing the root experience with Chase… A cold shower would be best but the river was a good substitute.
Adrii nodded as Chris tried to stand but as he did so he found his legs were still a little shaky. Man, that root was good! He thought to himself.
After washing his face and composing himself Chris went back up to Adrii who had been quietly sitting on top of the riverbank watching the river go by. Chris noted she was looking peaceful and thoughtful.
“Is everything okay?” Asked Chris only mildly concerned.
“Yes, thank you. It’s hard not to feel okay after the Bliss flower. However, Jakob has just contacted me on the over telelink. My father, Ralph, has just found all the True Listeners neural-net rooms we had recently been told about, their recordings as you would understand them. He’s secretly adding them to ours, the Guild of The Punku recordings. Remember the memories you looked at earlier were a combination of everyone's experiences enabling you to see the whole story, not just one point of view…” Chris nodded. “Well, my father is combining our memories with the ones they had kept from us. Jakob is worried. We must understand what this means and how it affects the whole of DiPacha, including your, realm, or world. I have a request from Jakob…”
Adrii left the request unsaid. Just hanging in the air. Chris felt a sinking feeling, although he was slightly divorced from it thanks to the Bliss flower. Filling the silence he simply replied, “What can I do?”
“We need your story. To understand your world and how you ended up here. I need it now for my father so we can interpret all the memories and knowledge. Can you do this before we go back? I'll show you how.”
8Chris - Unexpected freedom
(Earth Year 2041)
The past eight years had been a mix of excitement and wonder, plus the occasional hangover, but that day I awoke with a mix of shock and grief.
I'd been to places and cultures I had only dreamed of as a teenager. I'd found myself guiding trekking groups in mountain ranges on three different continents and down rivers on rafts on two of those. Eight years living a dream lifestyle as an adventure sports guide, a lifestyle few experienced beyond the journey I was paid to take them on. On a rare break from guiding I'd met up with one of my brothers while he was on an equally rare holiday. There I had met the woman I thought was all I had ever wanted and before I knew what was happening I had given up the lifestyle I'd enjoyed and moved back to the UK to be with her. On this morning I realised that the world I thought I understood had let me down, and how naive and ignorant I had been.
I’d been living in a little bubble since the end of my A-levels some eight years before. I may have travelled widely but the community I’d existed within was insular and transient. Very little substance or depth beyond the moment. Trust was paramount and the clients' safety and pleasure was all. Show them a good time. Live for now.
I rolled over in bed praying that I was not alone. That it had all been a bad dream only to find myself in Stu's spare room.
That day is now a blur of coffee and facing the world to explain my new status as a single man. Changing my status on SM seemed futile, but it was something I could control. I felt such a failure. I now realise that I felt sorry for myself, not for the loss of the woman I thought I loved but for the loss of my dreams I thought she was part of. She had betrayed me. Hindsight, however, proved she had been a trophy, not a soulmate, not a true love. At the time though it still hurt. Facing family and friends to go over what had happened had not been an appealing thought.
She had cheated on me with someone I had thought was a friend. This was going to be worse than explain how I broke my right wrist in bed, alo
ne. No one ever believed the truth. It had got caught up in my bed sheet and I’d rolled on it, drunk of course, fracturing the scaphoid. I was used to a duvet which was not a great excuse, but it was the truth. My friends still dined out on that, when the mood took them.
There are a few things you learn working around the world for little money as a young man. How to make friends quickly, that those friends can move on just as quick. How to order a beer anywhere. Books are everywhere and do not need batteries. A bed is a precious thing, toothpaste is more precious than a bed. Communal washrooms often have toothpaste left in them by the uninitiated traveller. And just as Ford Prefect had told Arthur Dent, a towel is a wonderful and important thing, however, if not looked after they can take on a life of their own and need to be left to travel their own path.
Another important thing you learn is that arriving in a new place is that it allows you to leave old baggage behind and reinvent yourself. You can run away from things you don’t like. Right now, running away was a very appealing thought. I had no ties, a little in savings, enough for a few months on the road if I could find a little work.
While travelling I had not made it to South America and had always fancied visiting the jungles, the rivers and the mountains. As a qualified mountain and river guide I should be able to pick up work. There was also my other passion. Ancient cultures. It always amazed me that while travelling people seemed to become fascinated by the ancient cultures in the lands they visited. Often more than the current culture of the land. In my more philosophical moments, I often wondered if this lack of interest in the current was fuelling some of the less tolerant elements of society. Very few people in power seemed interested in understanding the other person's opinion for fear of making themselves look weak and losing any perceived power they felt they had. The 2020’s had seen the worst example of this with the world coming close to WWIII at times.
I must admit, however, that I too am fascinated by ancient cultures, especially those that cannot be explained by modern science. I had recently read an article about Out Of Place Artefacts. A term not used in mainstream science and archaeology but used by cryptozoologists and the like. I liked the term because it did what it said on the tin. It allowed me to consider in one term all artefacts, no matter how big, that did not fit within the context they were discovered within; much like finding a spaceship under the Arctic ice cap. That would be cool, but as we know almost impossible outside of sci-fi movies or the Marvel universe.
Disconnected (Connected series Book 1) Page 6
