“That’s crazy, man!” were the first slurred words from his mouth. “Hey guys, it’s like watching a foreign flick. I can hear the English but their mouths aren’t moving right. It’s trippy, dudes.”
Again Illary and her team heard all the words but only understood some. Although the gist suggested that they were less and less scared. Eventually all were wearing the babel devices. Illary could finally explain their predicament and current location to them. It was at this point that Dan had pulled out another large cone shape and set it on fire using a small silver box which flipped open with a click to reveal a flame. He set about inhaling the sweet smoke again. After some very strange conversations that Illary and her team could not follow the five fell fast asleep again and did not wake until the evening.
Over the next two days Illary and Cunac spent many hours talking with the five. Illary took them to her workshop in an effort to help them understand where they were by showing them emissions from WaytaPata. At no point had they been allowed beyond the walls of the Uma residence or the sacred Punku complex.
The five eventually told their story. They had come from a place called England, a location called Stonehenge and a time they called 1971 and by all accounts their appearance in Millham was a complete accident. A chance event.
Illary and her team had been trying to work out the Others time measurement. 1971 was what they called a year and as each year passed they counted higher and higher. This was new to Illary and her team. In DiPacha there was before the neural-net, the lost times, and after the neural-net.
Ella had calculated a year to be one and one third cycles. Everyone in DiPacha knew how many cycles old they were and measured longer time in generations but no one bothered beyond that. Time had little meaning across DiPacha. Life was lived, not timed passed.
The others spent some time explaining their home and concepts such as countries to Illary. Stonehenge was a revelation to the Pachans, an ancient monument that sounded similar in construction to the Punku in the centre of the quadrant. When Betty pulled a picture on a card from her pocket Illary and Cunac stepped back in shock. Firstly he had never seen a picture card and seeing the detail on something that could be held took all the Pachans breaths away. They were the same but there was a circle of them. There was no mistake, the stones matched. The stones in Pachamama could only have come from the same place, but generations before. No one knew how to react to this. The Uma and Ma’Kusi were still of one mind. This must stay within the Guild of The Punku. No one else could know. Not yet.
The five were slowly relaxing or at least coming to terms with their surroundings. Understanding that this was not a dream or a weird group hallucination following what they called ‘a bad trip’. Soon the inevitable question was asked.
“How do we get home?”
“But we do not know how you got here, exactly…,” said Illary hanging her head in sorrow. This had not been accepted well. Tears, shouts and accusations followed, they must have been brought there by the Pachamamans! ‘Abducted, alien abduction’ was the term they used. The five had become quite hysterical. Illary and her team were confused and upset.
Illary decided to take them back to the Punku to ask them what they remembered before arriving. She led Flow, Cunac and the others the short walk from the Uma’s residence to one of the entrances into the Quadrant where the stones stood majestically. The small charred circle of belongings lay between the stones.
“Flow and Cunac,” she said over telelink, “I gave instruction that their things be left where they lie. I want to see if seeing them helps the others to remember what happened to them. We need to be ready to listen, to help them remember.”
As the small group of eight approached the stones across the old wooden floor Tracey suddenly stopped noticing the charred remains lying forlornly on the floor.
“That was our tent,” said Tracey sadly looking at them.
“We only went to party.” Said Adam. “Now we’re here, where ever here is?”
“I am hoping that you can remember what happened at your party,” said Illary. “Telling us may help us understand how we can get you home.”
“The weather turned,” Adam simply replied sounding defeated.
“Can you describe what a tent is please?” Asked Flow.
“It’s a, it’s like uh, man, this is weird. Uh, a small house made of fabric you can put where you want and sleep in it,” said Adam trying to find simple words.
They had found that although they could understand the words their vocabularies were different and what seemed simple to the speaker needed explaination for the listener to comprehend.
“So what do you mean by the weather turning?” said Illary.
Betty who had been quite quiet up until this point began to speak. “I think I understand,” she said. “We, the five of us here, went to Stonehenge to party, to enjoy each other’s company and smoke; that is to inhale smoke. It changes the way we think, makes us feel happy and dizzy, opens our minds to new ways of seeing the world or thinking about it…”
“Ah like drinking shrouple. We make it from rice,” said Cunac with a wistful grin. “I use it to help me meditate.”
Illary looked sideways at him.
“Possibly?” continued Betty. Cunac checked himself. He had interrupted and was ashamed.
“Please continue, um, Betty. I do apologise”
“The weather was hot and dry when we arrived and put up the tent, although there had been big storms earlier so the air was heavy with moisture. We call that humid. We had been smoking, inhaling the smoke, for a few hours and were all feeling very happy. Often when we’re like that we do not know exactly what we are doing or why.” Betty paused to see if they were all following. Illary nodded to her. “We call it ‘Getting High’, like being outside your own body and watching yourself.”
Illary and Flow looked a little confused. Cunac nodded knowingly.
“Well, the weather did not stay hot and dry. A massive storm hit. We ran to our tents for shelter. We were inside our little tents as lightning began crashing around us. It was intense and somehow not quite real. I’m sure that was the weed, the smoke. Then suddenly we were all here. So I think it was the lightning that brought us here.”
“I agree with that,” said Illary. “We had rain and wind come through the Punku a few days before. We guessed it was a storm on the other side of the Punku but we can't predict or control it.”
Everyone shared a knowing but sad look. No one had anything further to add or any others theories. Silently Jane went forward and started going through what was left of their belongings from earth. Eventually, they all returned in silence to the Uma’s residence.
Ma’Kusi took the five to her heart and spent many days talking with and listening to them. The fear and anger of being in Pachamama against their will was subsiding. The five Others now understood that they could not bargain their way home. They were replacing their feeling of loss and depression by becoming very open minded and inquisitive about the Pacha realms. It was almost like an unreal adventure for them. They had now accepted that this was reality and not a ‘weird trip’ as they sometimes referred to their situation. All five had accepted that they were actually in a different realm as their hosts called it, and not in any immediate danger. In this new paradigm they found a new culture that the five could accept, a sharing culture that was not driven by selfish materialism. As well as Ma’Kusi’s company Cunac would often come and talk to them. He and Adam developed a bond very quickly, a shared love of shrouple. Betts joked that he had become a brewer's apprentice.
The five still missed home but would often talk of Earth plainly and agreed that the leaders on Earth had it all wrong. The five hippies had found a community that evoked many of the philosophies they had believed in on Earth, community and respect for life. However, as time passed there was a dawning realisation of the cost of staying on Pachamama. It meant that to truly live closer to the philosophies they had held on Earth meant significant sacrifice. No
healthcare or welfare state to bail them out. No safety net. You were on your own except for the people around you. If you did not look after them they would not look after you. Society appeared to police itself, and there was also no weed, this was taking some getting used to!
Da’Cince and Ma’Kusi agreed with many of the philosophies the five had. However, they could not agree that free love and no responsibility were good philosophies for maintaining a society. Uma Da’Cince listened well but was sure that the idea of complete freedom and no responsibility would lead to chaos.
No one had yet explained the history of Earth and DiPacha to the five. Da’Cince, Ma’Kusi, Illary, Cauca and Cunac had many long discussions about when it would be best to explain this. It was a question they were surprised had not come up yet. The five were all intelligent and Da’Cince was assuming that they had been processing so much that they had not connected WaytaPata to Earth. It was not in their circle of reference after all.
Ma’Kusi suggested a quiet evening meal between the ten of them in the Uma’s palace next to the Punku would be the right time to explain. She had spoken in depth to the five about food and had a good idea of what they had most enjoyed eating during their time on Pachamama. Spicy rice and fish for some, eggs and bean curd, soft fruits from the bushes along the river, freshwater crayfish, watercress, flatbreads and other sweet edible plants. She had tried to work out what milk, cheese and yoghurt were but was not sure yet. All Ma’Kusi knew was she had not found out yet, and suspected they were not available on Pachamama.
She arranged for a meal to be prepared and set in the small hall which was used for more intimate gatherings. A fire was set in the central fire pit which had been sunken into the ground. Small channels ran under the floor so the warm air from the fire heated the floor and the whole room was beautifully warm compared to the evening outside. Ma’Kusi suspected that the revelations of WaytaPata’s history as part of DiPacha was going to cause some upset. She wanted her guests to be comfortable and feel welcome here as they learned the truth. The meal was being enjoyed and Cunac had brought some shrouple to share. Cauca had brought some of his water that was fresher than the water in the palace, or so he insisted. His well was next to the river and the palace was about 1000 feet from the river! That made everyone except Jane laugh, she agreed with Cauca.
“I hope you are all feeling welcome?” Asked Ma’Kusi as everyone started to settle after the meal. “We wanted to invite you here tonight for a few reasons. An important one is to make you feel welcome because you are.” She hoped she was delivering the news with compassion. Cunac had agreed she had a gentler touch. He would just come out with it. Ma’Kusi had expressed concerns saying ‘put yourself in their position…’
“The other reasons?” Asked Dan now a little less comfortable and increasingly suspicious.
“We need to be honest with you about our history, to share it with you. We now know we had a joint history from long ago.”
“What do you mean?” Asked Tracey. “How could that be?”
“Do you remember when Betts showed us the picture of Stonehenge? The stones of your Stonehenge look so similar to those of our Punku. We believe that is because they come from the same place. The stones of our Punku come from Earth, we call Earth WaytaPata which means beautiful garden…”
“But I don’t understand, how…”
“I’ll come to that and answer all questions when I’ve finished,” said Ma’Kusi hoping she did not sound patronising and feeling bad for interrupting. However, she needed to deliver her message. “There is a legend in DiPacha. As you now know DiPacha is a group of different realms connected by the Punku. I think we decided it was like saying that all the realms are like different countries on your world being connected by short bridges or doorways…?”
The five nodded wondering where this was going.
“Well, there is a legend of one more Pacha realm called WaytaPata. This realm was supposed to be more beautiful than all the others, have more resources, be greener and more bountiful than all the others. It is said that it is where we all originated from. It is a legend that WaytaPata was the realm that enabled us to live comfortable lives without struggle. The Pachans of WaytaPata held the key to all this wonder and had the responsibility of looking after it for the benefit of us all. In legend they were known as The Gardeners. As is our culture the resources and wonder they had were shared across the realms.”
“Long, long ago the then leaders of the Pacha realm HuñuyPacha decided they didn't like our sharing culture. They wanted to control all the Punku and people of DiPacha. They decided that to control the Punku to WaytaPata was to control all Pachans. No one knows how, but all the Punku to WaytaPata then closed. Over time WaytaPata became known as Chinkay WaytaPata. The Lost Garden. The exact location of the Punku to WaytaPata have been lost to legend. Millham is the only city around an ancient monument that is not a Punku and many have speculated it was a way to WaytaPata. One of the ancient lost Punku…
"The Punku to HuñuyPacha is about half a day's walk outside of Millham with a small village around it. There are other Punku to other realms in Pachamama but these are further away. Most are many days walk away. Each Punku has a village or town around it. Often these are influenced by the Pacha realm they connect Pachamama to.”
Betty was getting suspicious of the punchline to this tale and was shifting uncomfortably in her seat. This was not going unnoticed.
“For many cycles now we have been receiving what we have called anomalous emissions through the Punku here in the palace and two others on Pachamama. No one had noticed anything from this Punku ever before, as far as is recorded in the neural-net anyway. For about a cycle now Illary has been able to work out what these anomalous emissions are and interpret them. They are pictures and sound, she has recently worked out how to see the pictures and sounds as you have seen. Since then she, Ted, Flow and Ella have been monitoring the information.” Ma’Kusi paused and everyone tensed. The punchline was imminent.
“We heard a story from Earth about a garden called Eden.” There was an audible intake of breath as the five began to jump to a conclusion but Ma’Kusi continued before she could be interrupted. “We are now completely sure Earth, WaytaPata, is Eden. The stones were one of the main pieces of evidence that confirmed this to us. In your story or history of Earth, you lose Eden, you get shut out of the bountiful garden. We believe you got shut in.” Ma’Kusi finished and looked around.
Betts was crying. Dan and Adam had stood up and then sat down again looking confused. Tracey and Jane had gone over to comfort Betts and were both confused about what they had just heard.
“I know this is a lot to take in and you are welcome to see our evidence and question us all you like but this is our unavoidable conclusion,” said Da’Cince. “Please take the time you need.”
“I was raised in a catholic orphanage until I was sixteen years old and I ran away,” sobbed Betts. Her friends either stood up in shock or leant closer to comfort her. “I always believed in God but not in the authoritarian way the nuns ran the place. It was wrong. It was not the way I understood Jesus from the Bible.” She sobbed some more.
“I’m sorry; we don’t understand,” said Da’Cince.
“On Earth religion is used as an excuse for many of the wars we have. It’s used as an excuse by some people to start fighting. People who should know better and are often motivated by personal greed or ambition,” said Dan. The others nodded sadly. “Only two years ago, about three cycles, in a country next to ours called Ireland people started fighting. Again God and religion were dividing lines upon which neighbours separated themselves. Some were killed. It’s sad, God is supposed to be a being, some think our creator, a being who is supposed to love all people and when we die we are supposed to go to heaven to be with him. Heaven is a place where there are supposed to be no problems. A perfect place. The nuns Betts talked about would be women who dedicated themselves to God and ran a home for children who had no parents.
The Bible is a book of stories and instructions that are supposed to help people live the right way, God's way and how to look after each other.”
“That sounds a good thing, looking after the children?” said Ma’Kusi
“Well yes on one level. But some religious types are super strict. I do not know what they were like for Betts. She’s never liked talking about her past. I had no idea she came from an orphanage until now!”
“Why would people fight about someone who is supposed to love them?” Asked Cauca.
“I don’t know,” said Dan looking sad. “I always hoped there was something more but could never bring myself to believe in a God that allowed fighting. It all seemed to be over different beliefs in the same God, I don’t know, I never understood.” Dan sounded almost as upset as Betts looked.
“The nuns believed they were doing the right thing,” sobbed Betts. “They believed in their God, but they didn’t understand people. To them, they believed that if you didn’t do what they said they could persuade you with punishment. I never understood why a God that loved me would need to punish me to persuade me to follow him.” Betts sniffed. “I’m crying because if what you say is true then Eden existed, which means that potentially God is real. I always prayed he was…” Betts trailed off into silence.
The concept of God and religion was an anathema to the Pachamamans. The closest they had was the legend of the Gardener who created the Garden. Cunac asked, “This God, was, is he a man then, someone the nuns could talk to?”
“No,” chuckled Betts. “He or she is supposed to be a creator who existed before time and who created the world and people in His image…. Hell that means He would have created you, all Pachans, in His image too!”
“Wow, Betts! That’s enough!” shouted Tracey. “I get this is huge news and may or may not be true. I’m struggling with this, as much as your news actually. I never had you down as religious, a Bible basher!”
“Hey! Not religious. That’s why I ran away. Religion does not mean believer. Does not mean Bible basher! That’s a nasty name and not very respectful!” Betts was feeling victimised and regretful of coming clean about her past. This is exactly why she had kept her past and beliefs to herself.
Disconnected (Connected series Book 1) Page 14
