Early one morning, Errak had come rushing in shouting that something strange had just happened and that they should go with him to the main gate. When they breathlessly arrived, they were shocked to see the robot, which they had left on Olina, waiting outside the palisade.
“I just knew it was something extraordinary,” said Anderika, fascinated.
“Yes, I believe you now,” said Shay. “Getting here from Olina was really an achievement.”
“Once its circuits are activated,” continued Anderika, “which should have happened before we began the experiments in Urduk’s desert, it is self-propelled, via its battery, which gets its power from electricity in the atmosphere. I just can’t understand, though, how the ship’s depleted batteries could have sufficed to charge it. That shouldn’t have been possible, so its circuits must have had an unknown capacity.”
It took quite a bit of explaining before they could convince Dirazif that there was nothing to be afraid of and she gave the guards permission to open the drawbridge.
“What can it handle?” Dirazif asked, when the shiny robot stood before them.
“It’s hard to say,” answered Anderika, “but in general just about anything at all, I’d say, except maybe singing and dancing. A built-in transponder also allows it to understand voice commands, so you can ask it some questions yourself and find out.”
“OK. Then I request your name and age?”
“My name is Bu-tek and I was constructed eight months ago,” it answered, in a monotone chanting voice.
“Fantastic! And what does your name mean?”
“Bu is an abbreviation of Buvarta, who was goddess of war during the Mindoan period, and tek comes from technology.”
“So you are a she, in other words?”
“My programmes do not indicate any gender.”
“Well, then I’ll do it instead. Can you tell us what you can do?”
When the answer was that the question must be defined more clearly, since it would take too long to answer, they all had a good laugh.
“I realise that this robot is a force to be reckoned with and that we are surely going to have much use for. Welcome, Bu-tek!”
Several times they had expressed an interest in seeing more of their surroundings, so that evening, when Dirazif came to their residence, she was happy to tell them that a cargo boat would be leaving for the island of Leido the next morning, with room for eight passengers. She let them decide who would get to go now and who would have to wait for a later opportunity.
“I realise that most of us will want to travel on the first sailing,” said Allur once she had left, “which is why I think that we should decide, as usual, by lot. If the winners have partners, then they would have priority.”
Early the next morning, as the dawn light slowly crept up the rooftops and the sun began to glitter on the blue surface of the water, the passengers gathered down in the harbour. Once the boat was loaded, Shay, Baria, Esai and Flores took their seats in the stern, while Anderika, Caver, Kark and Grewerg sat in the bow. Once the skipper, a tall and balding heavily-built fellow, had finished his final inspection, he ordered them to cast off, at which the ten rowers dipped their oars and began to row out to the middle of the river. In the distance they could make out the village of Rubin, surrounded by a field of wheat waving in the breeze like carpets of gold, and after they had rounded the guard tower at the river’s edge they were suddenly just offshore from the settlement and were assailed by a strange, dry and acrid odour. At first it was difficult to ignore, and held their noses, but eventually they became so used to it that they hardly noticed it any more. Along the shore was a green strip of coarse grass and low bushes, but otherwise all they could see was an endless, black glittering bacterial sea.
“Does it look like this all the way to Leido?” asked Esai.
“Yes, unfortunately,” laughed the skipper in a bellowing response. “Except for a small island halfway, which we call Green Finger, it’s as black as sin.”
The voyage proceeded without interruption under a blazing sun, and if they hadn’t set up an awning for protection they surely would have been fried. It was almost totally calm, with the only life the occasional insect, or a fish that surfaced to get some air. Eventually they approached the approximately 150-metre-long, 30-50-metre-wide island, almost completely tree-covered, which made it seem like a pleasant mirage in contrast to the surrounding black sea. As they drew closer, they could see a timbered cottage, with a yellow thatched roof. The skipper told them that a fisherman who loved his solitude had lived there, but now that he had passed away it was empty and abandoned. The rowers laboured on, onward they travelled, until late in the afternoon they sighted Ardak Lake, with Leido in the distance, glowing in the evening sunshine like a green jewel. With a steady wind that filled their sail they rapidly approached the island, all the while listening to the sound of a distant bell. They passed a pier, where a dozen fishing boats had moored and two larger barge-like cogs were anchored, well inside Lana’s harbour. The skipper executed an elegant tack and lowered the sail, his expertise revealing his long experience; they moored and went ashore, where they were welcomed by a man clad in a peculiar green suit. After exchanging greetings, the man, who introduced himself as Master Leroy, invited them to follow him to the village inn. They entered its courtyard and sat themselves at a long table that had been set there. As a light cooling breeze wafted in from the lake and evening fell, they enjoyed the respite from the day’s unwavering heat and sat long into the night, relishing all the good food and drink that was set before them. Several hours later they left, satisfied and content. As Flores and Esai entered their room, they sat at the window and gazed up and the starry sky.
“I love you,” said Flores tenderly, and gave Esai a kiss.
“And I, you. I just haven’t been able to give you as much as I’d like to,” he replied.
“You’ve given me everything I could have ever dreamed of. Happiness is the only thing that matters in life, and I wouldn’t exchange you for all the riches in the world.”
“Not even for a prince?” he asked, smiling.
“Silly! For me, you are already a prince,” she said, and hugged him so hard that he almost lost his breath.
Lying in bed, before falling asleep, Flores tried to recall all her impressions from the day and thought that life couldn’t be better. What could surpass being safe at the side of one’s beloved, to be moving forward in excited anticipation of the result of one’s love and, in the pleasant night, being intoxicated by the fragrance of blooming citrus and kandel trees.
The next day they rose to a stunningly beautiful morning, the rising sun shimmering and glittering like mother-of-pearl. While Esai was in the bathroom, Flores sat on the edge of the bed and let her eyes wander around the room. Its design was simple, with nothing extraneous; there was only a bed, two chairs, a bedside table and a wardrobe, but there was nevertheless a comfortable atmosphere that felt peaceful to her. When Esai came out of the bathroom, she jokingly asked him where her big rabbit had been all this time.
“Be careful. I might be a mean rabbit, you know,” he answered.
“It doesn’t matter,” she giggled.
“Don’t be so sure about that,” he snorted happily as he showered her with kisses and caresses.
When Anderika knocked on the door a moment later and shouted that it was about time they came down for breakfast they hurriedly finished getting ready and went down to the dining room, where a groaning breakfast buffet awaited them.
“Is it time to eat now?” said Caver. “We finished a while ago.”
“Yes. It was that mean rabbit’s fault,” giggled Flores.
“Oh, then I understand completely,” said Caver, laughing. “I’ve also had the misfortune of having to deal with one of those on several occasions.”
“Yes, yes,” muttered Esai. “There’s other creatures that one can encounter that are worse: weasels, for example.”
“No, that’s enoug
h. I suggest we sit down and eat,” said Flores, “before more animals appear around the table.”
When they had finished, they sat chatting, satisfied and pleased, in the guest room, when Leroy came in and offered to show them around the island. Flores, in a giggly mood, had a hard time keeping from laughing at his shaggy green suit and bobbing hat, which she thought resembled a bird’s nest.
As they strolled through the village with him, they noticed that the inhabitants were dressed like the people in Riverlands, in clothes of a light weave, although they seemed more relaxed and happier. In general, the houses had whitewashed stone walls and yellow thatched roofs. Once they had left the buildings Flores described the buildings with appreciation, admiring what she saw as their beautiful and pure architecture.
“Thank you,” responded Leroy. “Our lives have emerged from chaos and the surroundings are an eternal maelstrom, so we have tried to create some kind of a refuge for the soul, by avoiding a blend of too many styles, which would risk creating a muddled impression.”
Except for a few forested hilltops, most of the island was made up of fields lined by trees bearing yellow fruit that provided the islanders their wonderful juice. After following a small winding path on the western side of the island, they eventually arrived at a mountain with a white tower on top, which Leroy told them was where they went when they wanted some peace and solitude. When they asked if they could climb up there as well, he answered that it would have to be another time, since it was late and time to return to the guesthouse.
They were famished when they returned to Lana, so they eagerly dined a chicken dish that had a spicy sauce, with red and yellow vegetables. In the afternoon, when Leroy was busy with other things, they decided to go for a swim in the golden bay on the western side of the island.
“It’s so beautiful here,” said Esai when they had arrived. He had immediately taken a quick dip and lay stretched out on the finely-grained golden sand beach, the sun warming from a clear sky.
“Is that right? I seem to recall that once upon a time you didn’t even think we should travel to this planet,” said Shay.
“That’s true. It’s lucky, then, that you rarely listen to my good advice.”
“Well, sometimes you are actually right.”
“Thank you. I’ll be relishing that one for a long time to come,” he said, chuckling.
“Be my guest. But, to be honest, I really didn’t think there was much chance that we’d survive. At the time there just wasn’t anything else we could’ve chosen.”
“Yes, you’re right, and one has to take advantage of whatever is available. Now I’ve resolved to try to be more positive, which is what you always advise, of course.”
“Good! Most people do worry unnecessarily. I usually arrive at my decisions according to logical reasoning, and once one has done everything one can, with the facts available, one then has to let fate do the rest.”
“Although the pessimist avoids the whole business, and is also disappointed, since there’s nothing left but to be positively surprised.”
"So you can see it to, laughed Shay.
On the way back, they decided to climb the mountain they had passed earlier in the morning. At the top, they gazed out at the lush green landscape, a patchwork of fields all around. They stood there a little while, a light breeze tousling their hair, before approaching the tower structure. They went through an arched doorway and entered a portico, furnished with several closets and shelves, where a peaceful atmosphere reigned.
“Strange, here’s something that looks like a tube of helium,” said Anderika, once their eyes had become used to the dim light and they began looking at the objects stored in the various cabinets.
“How in the world did that get here?” wondered Caver.
“I guess it came from the spaceship that, according to the records, sank out in the swamp and which the inhabitants say is what their ancestors arrived on,” replied Anderika.
After checking through the cabinets, they found four more objects of varying size and shape that attracted their attention. Shay had just picked up a strange metal sphere when they heard someone shout that these objects were the Holy Grail and were absolutely not to be touched.
In surprise, they turned to see an older man standing at the other end of the room and staring at them angrily.
“Excuse us,” said Shay. “We didn’t know it wasn’t allowed.”
“This is a temple and a holy place!” he shouted and threatened them with a raised fist. “You must leave immediately!”
“Of course, of course,” said Shay, as they hastily left via the doorway.
“It’s amazing how worked up he was,” said Esai, once they had left the building and stood outside in the wind.
“I think so, too,” said Grewerg. “It would have been fascinating to be able to investigate those objects more closely.”
“Yes, really,” said Anderika. “I was intrigued.”
They went looking for Leroy as soon as they returned to Lana. He looked pale when he heard what they told him and then refused to consider their request to be able to return to the hilltop temple.
“But why not?” insisted Anderika.
“Because everything there is up to the priest to decide,” he answered, brusquely, before quickly changing the subject by informing them that they were intending to hold a going away party for them before their departure the next day.
“But we thought we might like to stay a while longer,” said Shay.
“It’s not possible, since the rule is that visitors can only stay a maximum of two days.”
“And, of course, the rules are to be followed?”
“Yes, since the island can’t support any more inhabitants and so that as many as possible from Riverlands, who would anyway want to visit their friends and relatives, can visit, we’ve been forced to impose this restriction. Those who are here longer tend to want to stay for good, which is something that we want to avoid, so as not to have any disruptive conflicts emerge.”
“OK, since you explain it that way, I can understand. It seems pretty logical.”
“Good, then, that we agree about that. Then we’ll see you this evening and, if you excuse me, I have to attend to a number of errands that won’t wait.”
At dusk they gathered around a long table, laden with a great variety of dishes, which had been set up around the village square, decorated by a ring of lanterns that had been hung in the surrounding trees. When Caver and Anderika had finished eating and polished off a few dances to the tunes of the local band of musicians, they decided to go for a stroll, eventually sitting down on a nearby terrace, moonlight bathing the lake below.”
" It is so beautiful here that one almost becomes religious" said Caver once they had settled down.
" Yes really, she said."
“Do you, as a scientist, and someone who’s had every opportunity to study the laws of physics, really believe that God exists?” he asked.
“Yes, I do, Caver, if by that you mean a higher power that is greater than the Lorian and created the universe, she answered. It’s the only reasonably acceptable explanation for the existence of everything, according to my way of seeing things.”
"And what does this God represent for you?"
“It must be wisdom and love. Madness and evil have all through history only led to sorrow and unhappiness, which is why the power that created life and light in the world, which created the conditions for life, must also be good.”
“And how does one know what’s good and bad, then?”
“Even though it can sometimes be difficult to find the right way, I believe there is a universal feeling that regulates that relationship. Already, when we’re little, without anyone having taught us, we can see the difference between right and wrong, which is because we’re born with it. Since goodness is often false and is only to fulfil one’s own selfish objectives, it could be that it can be defined as acting in a way that is more than common friendship, whil
e evil is instead the exact opposite.”
“OK, I can agree to that, but why should one make an effort to be good in a world that is evil. Isn’t there a risk that one is just a loser, then?”
“No, evil behaviour perhaps seems to provide more advantages in the short term, but eventually and inevitable leads to increasingly bad action, and so when someone is finally forced to face judgement before their maker then it’s as a loser. Good action, on the other hand, just leads to the opposite, just as a stonecast creates rings on water, so that the receiver also goes on to perform good deeds for those around them.”
“But what do you think about someone who says, as so many do, that they’re just going to ignore all philosophical outlooks and just seek happiness?”
“Happiness is of course essential, but to develop as an individual, and for the sake of one’s peace of mind, one should also have some more elevated perspective on life, which at times makes it necessary to have to choose the more difficult paths, even though they appear likely to risk ending up in disaster. According to the theories of Lohrism, then . . .”
“Lohrism?”
“Yeah, it’s a religion I studied on Loria, and is the hypothesis that we relive our lives repeatedly, which implies that we gain experience and increase our knowledge. If one believes in this perspective, then even bad experiences, which naturally are not enjoyable when they happen, play a role in our development. Maybe we’re like atoms that seek to fill their shells with electrons, and when that process is accomplished, takes on a new structure in a new dimension.”
“Now we’re onto a higher philosophical level, as I usually say to Shay,” he said, laughing.
Loria Page 14
