Smiling to myself I had a much-needed shower to freshen up and wash the travel gremlins away. Staying awake another ten hours to reset my body clock was the next challenge. Remembering I had the address of Professor Chavez’s contact I decided to work out how to get there and also to find a walk up and out of the city for the morning. I needed to stay busy. Finding that going up and down the two flights of stairs to my room was making me breathless I really did need to acclimatise.
After an uneventful afternoon that seemed to drag to an eternity I spent the evening phoning my parents and then a longer than expected call to Chase. I finished by saying that I would not be able to talk every day, that was a lie and we both knew it. Unless my phone got stolen or broken I would be able to call from anywhere. It was more a white lie, I needed to remain as emotionally detached as possible.
Chase had been told the name of the contact I needed to find now, José Perez. She sent me a link to his Link Profile so I would know who to look for and she told me they had sent him mine, he was expecting me around 10am at his hotel on the 24th. Eventually we said goodbye and suddenly we realised that like soppy teenagers neither of us were hanging up. At least we both laughed before I said goodbye a final time and hung up. I vowed that would not happen again!
The next day I went for a walk and explored a little more, killing time until Thursday when I would meet José. The freedom of being free and technically single was an unexpected struggle. It could have been boredom but I was struggling to maintain self-control not because I had an opportunity to misbehave but because the opportunity was there. That had been my default modus operandi for the previous eight years on the road. I called Chase. I just wanted to know she was okay and yes hearing her voice made me happy and reminded me I had changed, I had a new modus operandi. She teased me for calling but I was sure she was glad I had. It sounded like she’d had a bad day. I hoped I had cheered her up and not made it worse.
As the next day dawned I got up excited for what the day may hold and got a taxi to José's Hotel; a four-star place that was going to serve as their base for six months. They had exclusive use of an IT suite in the basement. That meant that any finds could be uploaded straight onto Uni servers. The team had brought a vlogger, Martina, with them to offer live streaming of the public access investigations. The vlog was funding the four-star hotel.
José was from Bolivia but had been educated in Birmingham, where he’d met Amy at a gym. I wondered if Chase knew? I’d have to ask her tonight, an excuse to call, excellent! José's English was first-class which I appreciated, as my German and French was not much use here in the mainly Hispanic area.
The afternoon was spent being introduced to the team and I ended up helping set up the IT systems, mainly passing people things as I was not technically minded like Barnacle who would have loved the tech. I was a little out of my comfort zone. There were two others in the team, another Stu who was from London, and Sofia. Both Sofia and Martina were from Argentina and both very attractive. I was doing my best not to notice, but it was hard. I could see why Martina had almost four million subscribers. Strange thoughts started running through my head. I started wondering if Chase knew she was on the team, if it was a good idea to call Chase after all? I had no idea if she was the jealous type or not. But we weren’t together…
“Chris!”
“Yes, Stu?” Teenage paranoia interrupted. Too much time in my own head. I needed to stay busy.
“Have José or the girls told you of our initiation ceremony for this site?”
“Uh, no they have not.” I was not a fan of initiations. In the past initiations had led to some bad haircuts, a loss of eyebrows and in one case particularly bad case a bin that had contained the remnants of a bad haircut and a pizza. A shiver went down my spine.
“Oh, it’s good. You’ll like it. No American Bro’ stuff.” I was starting to like Stu. He had a pedigree name after all.
“José!” Stu yelled. “Do you have a pass for Chris?”
“Yes, it came through on my email about an hour ago. You brief him will you?”
“Got it!” Stu was grinning at me. He had a surprise for me, and all the power in that moment. I was getting nervous. “You're spending the night at Puma Punku. We’ve all done it. It’s a treat. You have to do it on your own and it’s a rare privilege. The stars are spectacular and the stones in the moonlight are phenomenal. The weather tonight is supposed to be good, but storms from tomorrow for a while. You can’t come up to the site until you’ve done the initiation!”
“That initiation I think I can do!” I could feel my excitement rising like a spring tide.
“He’s in!” shouted Stu.
That evening I met José back at his hotel with my rucksack, phone and sleeping bag for an overnight stay at Puma Punku. José had arranged a taxi that would take me to Tiwanaku. From there it would be a short walk to Puma Punku and bivvy down for the night. I was as excited to be there as I was to try out my kit.
The taxi ride took about ninety minutes, a rough and bouncy ninety minutes, it should have taken two hours. I got the impression the taxi driver either did not want to be at Tiwanaku or wanted to get home as soon as possible, possibly both.
The walk over to the site was a little eerie as no one else was around. Apart from the sound of the cold wind blowing through the dry grasses and stones on the plateau, I could hear nothing. Now was the perfect time for the ultimate phone call. It was about 11pm so I knew I’d be waking her up as it would be 4am on Saturday morning back in the UK. At least she would not have work the next day. I chose [v’call] and clicked on her image. The phone rang.
“Hi, Chris… What the hell, it’s 4 am. I mean it’s nice to hear… Oh I mean see you, hey can you see me?”
“Uh yes.” I sounded a little embarrassed. In my excitement, I had not considered that she would be in bed and what that may mean. I’d never seen her in her bed. “Sorry. But I think you’ll like this.”
“I better had. And no I don’t normally sleep with a soft toy so take that grin off your face.”
“It’s gone,” I said. I was still grinning, I couldn’t help it. It was as much about where I was as it was about what I’d seen. There are two types of Teddy I’d just witnessed and I was at Puma Punku. Life was good, if not a little perverse.
“Look where I am!” I said turning the phone around and changing the subject.
“Is that where I think it is, are you actually there now, it must be late evening, dark!”
“Yes, and it’s magical. I had to share it with you.” I suddenly realised that I’d seen many magical places, often alone while clients slept safely in their tents. I’d never had anyone in my life I wanted to share these experiences with as much as I wanted to share them with Chase.
There was no sound from the phone. I turned it around worried I’d lost connection. I could just see Chase’s face with tears in her eyes.
“Are you okay? I thought you’d like it. I didn’t want to upset you.”
“You haven’t upset me exactly,” said Chase sounding mournful. “I’m just not there and I’m not there with you. This is harder and more special than I could have thought. Show me around, will you. I want to see as much as possible.” On the screen I could see Chase sit up in bed. The covers slipped down.
“You’re beautiful.” I said it without thinking, my internal editor stunned into silence. I was a little embarrassed.
“Stop being slushy, Chris!” she admonished me. I could see her grin and blush slightly as she pulled the covers up. “Now show me around and no more slushy stuff. I can’t handle it.”
I spent the next wonderful hour having Chase give me a guided tour of Puma Punku. She was guiding me like a drone to the places she wanted to see. I told her about the team, she knew about Martina the vlogger and just smiled sweetly at me when I told her. I wish I knew what that had meant. I told her how José knew Amy, which had come as a surprise. We put it down to a small world moment. Chase said she had only spoken b
riefly to Amy of the details of the trip and the team I would be within Bolivia. I decided to set up camp next to the main gate with the Alien figure looking down on me. I stayed on the line with Chase all sense of time lost between us. An alarm on my phone suddenly sounded.
“What was that?”
I checked. “It’s the weather alarm,” I said slightly concerned. “The pressure has dropped dramatically. Stu, the Stu from the team here, promised no storm until tomorrow. It looks like it’s coming in tonight, and fast! The stars are disappearing quickly!”
“You’d better find shelter,” Chase said concerned.
“You’re not wrong. It’s come in quick. I can see lightning.”
“I know you shouldn’t but the only roof is the stone doorway. In the open you’re too exposed. You need shelter. Go. I can hear and see the lightning on the screen here!”
Chase was sounding as concerned as I was feeling. I’d seen storms roll in quickly, the Mistral in the south of France or massive thunderstorms up the Tyrolean valleys but this was like the old classic Independence Day. Clouds bowling and rolling over each other with the lightning illuminating fantastic purples and oranges through the clouds. This was going to be a doozy of a storm. I was glad of my kit. I reckoned my distiller was going to reach its full capacity real quick.
I ran for the doorway jumping over the ropes that were around the area and whipping around in the wind like crazed skipping ropes. As I dived for shelter I remember seeing a flash of lightning, then nothing.
9Shock and Awe - Part 4
Recording his own memories was not as fast as reliving someone else's. Adrii had briefed Chris on the process earlier in the day while they had been at the small house which had served as their home since they’d all arrived on Pachamama. But although not much real time had passed Chris had experienced time in the strangest of ways he could have imagined since leaving the house. Reliving other people's memories through what felt like the most realistic dreams he had ever had. The time between then and now had been stretched and twisted beyond his current comprehension. Much weirder than any jet lag he’d ever known.
Shaking, he turned to Adrii who had her eyes closed. Chris wanted to speak. He felt like he needed reassurance. Exposed again. Scared again after experiencing many memories across many decades within a few hours. As his focus returned he could see Adrii but her face was full of concern and her eyes flicking as if she was also in a trance. Chris remained quiet but pensive. The Bliss flower’s effects had well and truly been cancelled by reliving the past few months. Chris told himself he needed to man up. He'd had his cry and now he needed to hold it together! Taking a deep breath he sat and waited for Adrii.
When Adrii finally opened her eyes she looked directly at Chris. Not with the calm patient and reassuring eyes she'd used all morning. Her blue eyes had laser focus and real purpose. The set of her jaw suggested slight fear, but not cowardice. Whatever she had been doing in the neural-net or hearing over telelink had galvanised her. She looked resolute.
The sun was arching up to what Chris estimated to be 9 to 10 am, not that he’d worked out how they measured time here yet, and its white light shone down on Adrii's face lighting it up as she spoke.
“We need to get the Bliss flowers now and head straight back. I'll explain as we go. I have explained to Jakob and my father where we are and what we have been doing.” As she was saying this she was standing and striding stick in hand to the patch of flowers.
“This is vitally important. I do not have time to show you exactly which flowers you should pick and can use. Some along this river can kill you. Unless you are taught, never come here to get these. Is that understood…?” Chris only had time to nod. “Good.” Adrii was not like the woman he had known since arriving here. Something was up. Immediately Chris found his own mood change to match Adrii’s. He was not on red alert yet, but he was moving up the scale light bulb at the ready.
Adrii had already grabbed the flowers and was washing them. She completed the task so fast that Chris was almost running after her like a puppy keeping up with its master. Spinning on his heels he headed back up the bank after Adrii who was now purposefully heading back through the paddy fields all the while continuing her briefing to Chris.
“As you know we can combine memories to allow us to understand events from many perspectives. This is much better than one viewpoint. Everyone views the world differently. Jakob and my father have found some shocking events that have occurred since the others arrived. This also affects WaytaPata, your world. When we get back we will need to show your friends all I have shown you today. This should not take long if done immediately and then we can use the Bliss flower to help them recover after the shocks if needed.”
Chris was completely lost and flummoxed by what he was hearing. What did she mean, how could his world be affected by these unknown realms?
“I will brief your friends and bring them up to speed while you get the answers you require. I need you to understand what we have discovered. I think it best that you know the whole of the Others’ story and the whole truth. Since you came through the Punku to these realms we have discovered things we did not previously know. Now we must work together to rescue all DiPacha. We will need the support of you all. I have already reviewed your story, Chris. The insights you can provide from WaytaPata will be really useful. The same will be true of your friends. Jakob and my father are gathering the Guild of The Punku, here and on WaytaPata, to ensure we all know the truth.”
Adrii was reminding him of a panicked mountain guide who was not taking the time to properly assess a situation and was making rushed decisions. That was dangerous. He knew people and Adrii looked panicked. “Look, Adrii, you're going too fast for me to keep up. And I don’t mean how fast you are walking. You seem to be assuming I know what you’re talking about. I don’t. We don’t!”
“That’s what I’m telling you. You will all need to understand and fast. We need to act before the True Listeners realise what is happening.”
“How can we act on what is not understood…?”
“Chris, you need to get this. I have shown you some of our recent past and some that happened generations ago. What I need you to know now is two things, the bit in the middle and the fact that some people we thought we could trust have betrayed us. What they have been doing endangers all our realms. The whole DiPacha. This second bit we only found out this morning. Secrets that are against all we believed we knew. There is no doubt of the danger or the actions taken by the True Listeners!”
Light was dawning on Chris. Slowly, however, he was also beginning to realise that he could download information quickly. He had, after all, learned so much already today. If he’d been told yesterday he could learn by dreaming, or share his own memories by day dreaming he would not have believed it. Chris parked that revelation. It would distract him from what was happening right now. He could return to his philosophical enlightening’s later.
“OK,” he said. “Where do I find the missing information? The information you need us to understand.”
They were about halfway through the paddy fields now and near the outer ring of Millham. Adrii turned abruptly to Chris stopping him in his tracks. It was the first time Chris had seen her face since they had left the river. She looked terrified.
“You can find your way back from here yes? Good. I’ll brief your friends. You get the answers you need and meet me at the house. You’ll find what you need in the Guild of The Punku room. You’ll need to look for Cunac and Cauca’s journey to HuñuyPacha.”
10Back in the day - HuñuyPacha
(Earth Year 1971)
Illary had been with the five since she and her team had entered the quadrant. During that night they had been able to move them to the Uma’s residence which was one of the closest buildings and certainly the most private.
Uma Da’Cince was indeed impressed with Illary’s handling of the incident and calmed down dramatically when it was clear the Illary and her team w
ere not responsible for the visitor's arrival. They all seemed calmer now they were in his cool dark chambers. It appeared as though they had inhaled all the calming substance they’d brought with them. Da’Cince was wondering if they had brought it as a medicine for the unknown journey they’d embarked on. However when the five awoke they appeared to be very hungry and loved the spiced rice and dried fish that was given to them. They obviously had no idea of rationing their food and just kept munching away at the food.
After they finished munching on their food, or grazing like animals as Illary thought, they fell asleep again. The snores were loud and sounded as though nothing would wake them.
Towards the middle of the day the five began to wake and ask questions or for a drink. They looked very scared. Illary new that she needed to get them to use the babel devices or communication would be near impossible.
“Look.” Said Illary, opening her hand and showing the group five small black devices about the size of a fingernail. Slowly she reached up and took the one from behind her ear, showed it to Dan, and then put it back again.
Tentatively Dan took one that Illary gently offered him. Copying Illary he put it behind his ear too.
“Can you understand me now?” Asked Illary calmly.
Immediately Dan could understand, he had grinned and then looked horrified. He plucked it away from behind his ear and threw the device away shouting in alarm. Turning white and looking very sick he sat down heavily on the ground.
Illary slowly stepped forward and picked up the device. She had heard him shout “witchcraft” as he threw it. Although her babel device picked up the word there was no equivalent in Pachamaman. She made all the rest of her team show they were wearing one too.
Cautiously Dan took it from Illary again.
“Are you Okay?” Asked Illary tentatively.
Disconnected (Connected series Book 1) Page 13
