by Shane Cogan
Why I am so nervous? Did they see my hands shake?
‘Calm down! Please, think even more carefully. Please recall some more of that morning. Did anything out of the ordinary occur at the breakfast table?’ asked Fing, another female member of the Vanguard. ‘Was she wearing that strange watch that I have heard so much about? Was she wearing anything odd that day?’ Fing asked.
‘Please, Fing, now is not the time for your wild theories. There is no such watch. Let it be and let’s focus on the facts that the King presents to us,’ said Kaasobra, the third female member of the Vanguard.
Kaasobra managed to get hold of the discussion and get it back on track. All heads swung towards her in unison as she spoke. She had been quiet up until now. All eyes now rested on her face for a sense of stability to the proceedings. She managed to curtail Fing easily and re-directed the discussion back at the King. She merely waved Wormblack away as he muttered something under his breath. The other members of the Vanguard remained silent. Fareth tried to stay serene as he listed to Kassobra. Calm. Reflective. Always choosing her words carefully. She really is becoming like her father, including that distinct physical splendour. He momentarily lowered his head as he remembered her father.
Fareth felt the members of Vanguard were all looking at him simultaneously. Is my face that anxious-looking? He glanced at the final member of the Vanguard, Tur. Fareth hesitated before asking, ‘You haven’t said a word so far, Tur. Have you any comments, observations or questions to add to the discussion?’
‘Ahem, none that I can think of, Your Highness, ahem, maybe what dress she was wearing on the morning?’ he asked.
Politely, the King replied, ‘We have gone over that already, as you might recall?’
‘Ah, yes, now I remember. Nothing more to add,’ Tur concluded.
Absolutely hopeless. A stuttering idiot. Blast Tur’s father for insisting his eldest son join the Vanguard - all due to his fortunate hereditary genes and my relationship with his father.
After several more attempts at tracing each step of that morning’s conversations between Fareth and Camellias, the Vanguard decided to take a break from the proceedings in order to give the King some rest. However, the King was not finished and wished to speak some more.
‘Wait, just one moment. No one has asked me about my children, which are equally important as my wife, surely?’
The Vanguard fell into silence and merely looked at each other for a response. None came, and no one replied.
C H A P T E R 5
Dreamscape
The isolated creature on the dusty planet was frozen stiff. The eight-eyed insect was now on its face, staring at its prey. Paralyzed, the creature was not sure what to do next.
The eight-legged organism was alive, moving, breathing and making noises, but clearly completely different to me.
Should I move quickly, slowly, maybe make a noise at it, or just lay still?
‘Use your eyes as a guide,’ a voice in its head said. As if sensing some danger would occur soon, the creature smashed a hand against the insect’s body and leapt from the hard rock surface.
‘Where did you go?’ the creature asked.
Upon saying these words, it realised it had spoken to something other than dust, the liquid in the pool or the hard material that surrounded the area it was living in. Confused, it repeated the same words several times, only louder on each attempt. ‘Where did you go?’ It hoped this new being could utter words in reply. Nothing came. No noise, movement or even glimpse of the strange-looking insect. While the eight-legged insect was much smaller in size than the creature, it sensed it was far more powerful somehow.
Oh, the black eyes, those long legs similar to my hands, all eight of them, yes, it is very different from me.
The creature searched around the enclosed area for the eight-legged insect, in the hope of seeing something. Still, no sign of it. The creature was anxious as it sensed the area it was in was getting darker and it was getting harder to see. Nervousness engulfed its mind as the thought of when the other part of the day—the darkness—arrived; it would not be able to see anything at all. It shook its head as it thought of the blackness ahead.
‘Eight eyes?’ the creature shouted out. ‘Come out! I mean you no harm. I did not mean to push you away. I want to talk to you and to find out who you are, or even just find out who or what I am.’
Absolute silence. The creature gave up and moved back to the black space, where the liquid was falling from above. It placed more of it its body under it to ease its anxiety. It splashed the liquid onto its face, head and body. After a while the creature felt at ease, so it rested on a nearby hard surface to think.
The creature drifted very fast off to sleep. Almost immediately, it heard a voice calling its name. It turned to where the sound was coming from but could only see darkness. The creature called out, ‘What is that noise? Is that you, eight-legged thing?’
Still no reply! Then, suddenly, a reply came….one that it would never forget: ‘You need to use your mind and eyes to find the answers to your questions on this planet. You have many questions, all real and all very important, but only you can find the real answer.’
‘Are you the eight-legged thing?’ The creature waited for a reply.
‘No. I am not the spider that you have seen in the cave.’
‘What is a spider and what is a cave?’ the creature asked.
‘A spider is the eight-legged arthropod that you have seen earlier. You have already sensed that it was an insect of some kind. It lives here in this cave, where you have managed to find some shelter from the outside light. Watch the spider and learn how it makes its own shelter. It is called a web. Learn how it makes this web. Study how it survives. Once you have learned from this spider, you will know what to do next.’
The creature was delighted that something was making noises to it, but was still confused about this ‘spider’.
‘Who are you? Where am I? Who am I?’ it asked.
‘Where you are is not important; it is who you are that is important. I cannot give you these answers as you will need to find them yourself. I am merely a guide to help you along the way. The answers you seek can only be found by you, and you alone,’ the voice answered.
After some silence the voice spoke again. ‘You finding this cave for shelter, the liquid – which is called water – and is essential for life, and the spider proves that you have learned to feel, see, taste, hear and talk. These senses are critical for your survival. We are impressed by how quickly you have found out about the senses and their importance.’
The creature listened to every word, stored it and repeated it internally. ‘Why can I only hear you and not see you? Why can I only hear a voice in my head and when I am asleep? Where are you?’
A long silence and then, ‘I am not really like you, but I am in your mind and thoughts. You can only hear me when you sleep, or more so when you dream. I may not be like you in physical appearance, but I am very much a part of you, this planet you are on, and where you shall go next.’
The creature tried to memorise all these noises and thought about it for a while.
‘I do not make what you call noises,’ the voice said. ‘These noises are known as words, created in your mind. A form of communication. They come out through your mouth as your voice—something you have already discovered, Aluum. You use your voice to speak to me and other beings.’
On hearing a name, it was keen for another question to be answered. ‘You called me Aluum. Is that my name? Are you the same voice from that first dream that I had?’
‘Yes, I am the same voice. And that is indeed your name’
Aluum felt this was too much information to take in all at once. Nevertheless, it repeated it all again in its head. Somehow, Aluum felt it was crucial to remember the entire dream. Sensing the silence was longer than previously, Aluum asked, ‘You still have not told me what I am?’ Another long silence, but Aluum repeated the question again and again.
After a while, Aluum opened its eyes and woke up.
It looked around and realised it was just a ‘dream’. Suddenly Aluum remembered everything and what the voice had said during the latest dream, and quickly repeated every word, while using its mouth. There was no reply in the cave, as Aluum muttered the words out loud. It could only hear a faint echo.
Aluum was wide awake now and determined to follow the guide’s instructions and to seek out the creature called a spider. Carefully, standing up it went first to where the falling water fell from the top of the cave. Aluum started to see it for what it was and tasted it as water. Aluum already knew that this water was a key in this journey, due to how it had affected its body after drinking some of it through its mouth the first time. Aluum carefully inspected the puddle of water that was now resting in its hand. Jabbing at it with the other hand, it held the puddle close to its face and blew on it, and then inhaled it back. Nothing. No strange sensation. Next, splashing the water in its eyes it automatically felt a relieving sensation. Aluum did this again as it loved this feeling and made a mental note to do this each time it arose from sleep. It seemed to help the face somehow. Each time the water touched a part of Aluum’s body, a new feeling was unearthed. Aluum drank some more of the water until its body felt it had enough.
Remarkable. I really feel that this water substance is so crucial, so needed, yet I feel there is something else I need to put through my mouth to help my body, but I do not know what.
Almost forgetting that the water had taken over Aluum’s initial focus, it got back on the quest to find the elusive spider. ‘The guide had said to study the creature and something about a ‘web’ that the spider lives in,’ Aluum said softly. It was getting darker so it was becoming harder to see around the cave now. Aluum refocused and went back to the area where it saw the spider the first time.
Should I call out to the creature again?
But it sensed for some reason that it would not reply in the same words. Aluum searched all over the cave for the spider while shouting out questions. No answer.
Aluum’s eyes saw nothing but blackness. Then, suddenly, in the corner of the cave, where a light seemed to be reflecting off a shiny surface, Aluum could make out an outline of the spider’s body.
‘Hello, my little friend. I found you, finally! I have been told you will teach me and show me the answers I seek.’ Aluum already knew that the spider would not reply, or would not have any interest in doing so, but felt the need to use the words coming out its mouth, if only as a means to practice.
I feel I need to start communicating with anything; even if it’s the silent spider. It’s also the only moving, breathing and living thing I have seen on this planet so far.
Almost in a trance, Aluum stared at what the spider was doing. From the very little light in the corner of the cave, Aluum could see something coming out of the spider’s body. The creature seemed to be making a shape that was identical on each side, with each part exactly the same size, in each section. Each line that the spider was creating seemed to be interconnected almost perfectly. Aluum could make out that the whole structure that the spider was making was held together by the same material from the top of the cave and was, in effect, in mid-air.
‘Remarkable!’ The word echoed around the cave.
This must be the ‘web’ that the guide spoke of and something I need to study.
The spider continued to create its web. It spun its body around and sprang from the cave’s ceiling. Aluum thought it almost jumped from each side of the cave but realised the material from its body was being used to hold it together as it landed on the next piece of the web. In no time at all, the spider stopped in the centre of its creation. Aluum looked closer and was startled to see that the whole web, if that indeed is what the guide had referred to, was in fact complete. Aluum did not know what the shape of the web was, but thought it was beautiful.
For some time, Aluum tried to figure out what the use of the web was. After some time, realising the answer to the question, Aluum said, it is the creature’s own cave. Just like the guide said - this cave is my shelter. This must be where the spider lives. It has built its own web from its own hands, or whatever they are called. Surely this is what I am supposed to learn? It has formed its own shelter, but why is the spider just lying still at the outer edge of its creation? Aluum looked at the cave entrance and back at the spider’s web and noted its size in relation to its body.
It is bigger than me and the cave entrance.
Aluum looked at its hands and said, ‘Am I meant to make a similar web using these? And create my own shelter in this cave next to the spider?’ Aluum held out a hand and grabbed the other with it. And tried to produce something similar to what came out of the spider’s ‘hands’. One hand pulled the other hard and grabbed the five things on each end to see if they produced the shiny material. Nothing. No substance appeared from the pulling, just a strange uneasy jab through each hand. Aluum stopped, as it felt this was not what the hands on its own body were meant for and not what the guide wanted it to learn.
‘No web, no shelter, no identical shapes like the spiders from my own body, so what am I am meant to learn from this creature?’ Aluum wondered. Looking back at the spider’s home, as if anticipating the next lesson, Aluum spotted the spider moving towards the centre of the web.
Something had been caught in the cobweb and was shaking the newly-formed maze hard. Aluum ran to the web for a close inspection. The new insect, Aluum could tell, was a creature almost the same size as the spider. It seemed to be stuck. For the first time, Aluum touched the web and found that its finger stuck to the substance. Pulling harder, its hand came loose on the second attempt. Unlike Aluum’s hand, the other creature could not escape from the web.
‘Let this other creature go,’ said Aluum to the spider. Aluum watched as the spider, ever so carefully, moved towards this other creature that was caught in its shelter. Aluum sensed it was not moving to the other creature to speak to it or be its friend.
The spider was now on top of the other small creature and quickly covered it. Looking closer, Aluum could see that the spider was in fact putting this creature into its own mouth. Then it was gone, and the spider returned to the centre of its web. Aluum stepped back and tried to figure out what had just happened.
Aluum remembered what the guide had said earlier. And then looked at the spider and then at the water. Aluum inspected its hands and mouth, and compared them to the web, the small creature and the water. Suddenly Aluum realised the answer to why the spider had made the web. It is food. It is a trap. And I need to do something similar.
C H A P T E R 6
Kassobra
Kaasobra was the first of the Vanguard to break the silence. ‘Let’s take a short break before we proceed to the next stage of our inquiry,’ she said. The King seemed displeased by this statement and merely insisted further on a discussion about his children. Again, Kaasobra intervened, saying, ‘Please remain calm, Your Majesty. I think the last few days of intense worry and lack of sleep are making you forget or mix up the events that we are discussing here today.’ As if sensing he was about to speak again on the issue of the children, she clarified, ‘We are talking about the disappearance, or even the possible abduction, of your dear wife. Only that.’
Kassobra glanced quickly at each of the other Vanguard members to gauge their expressions. They all looked solemn, each with their heads half bowed or staring at the metallic table top. They waited for Kaasobra to continue. She regained her thoughts carefully, while simultaneously recapturing the King’s attention, saying, ‘And not your children, who unfortunately are no longer with this great planet of ours. They are the golden children of Atis and shall never be forgotten,’ she said, and paused on the last word. I remember his children very well. We all do. The planet does. How could we ever forget? Fareth shot her a stern look. Did he just overhear my thoughts? She turned to face the King, as he began to lift himself from his chair, waving his hands i
n all directions. He pointed his finger at Kassobra. His long index finger poised and directed at her only. ‘You know them. You have seen them. You know exactly where they are now. You call yourself a new Yarracullan. You are nothing like your great Shamanic father,’ he said in a demanding tone. Kassobra could hear the other members’ whispers increase in tone and saw Wormblack moving closer to the King.
The King was staring at Kassobra from the other side of the table. He had stopped with the words and remained silent. The gap between them was no bigger than his body. He had not been this close to her in some time, he realised. He noted that she stood at exactly the same height as himself. Quite rare for a Yarracullan. She knows something of my children. I know it. But it was her piercing green eyes that his eyes were locked on. He quickly sat down again, as Wormblack patted his shoulder and eased back to the table. Fareth watched her lips move again, which had an almost indigo colour about them. Her physique and thin body caught the King’s eye next. She had seen his wandering eye and sensed that he could read her thoughts. Can he really pierce my mind so easily?
‘Your majesty. If I may draw your attention to the present and not the past? It is crucial,’ she uttered softly, moving across the table, facing him closer now. Fareth mumbled something, but she could not catch his words. He seemed caught in a trance. She motioned for another member of the Vanguard to assist her. Fareth held his hand up, just as Tur came within touching distance of him. Its signal was clear and Tur retreated.
