by Shane Cogan
She tried to think what it was doing or to even feel some kind of emotion. Whatever the source of the light, it has taken control of my body and mind. But I can still move around in the source. The more Aluum moved around the source, the more her body appeared to change. At first, she felt a tingling sensation. Then some heat. Then cold. Next a sharp pain and a hard bang to her head. Suddenly she was lifted into the air and brought back to the surface with a huge bang. Aluum got to her feet and inspected her body. The paleness of her body was gone, replaced by a faint shadow. It changed to a faint light and then got brighter and brighter, until her whole body shined of this colour. A voice ushered a word. Aluum opened her eyes and looked at her body that was covered in one colour. A liquid of some sorts. ‘Purple,’ Aluum whispered.
‘Yes. You are right. Purple is the colour,’ a voice said. Is this the usual guide’s tone? ‘But how did I know this purple thing is a colour? How do I even know what these colours are? I have not experienced or seen such colours before and then I seen them for the first time in that strange source. What are they?’ asked Aluum. ‘Yes, it is me. I have done nothing. All I have done was trigger a part of your brain that only you can access. We call this the sub-conscience part of your brain. It is something you cannot access normally on any given day. One can only access this in your dreams, or…’ The guide went silent. ‘Or what?’ asked Aluum. ‘This colour purple is who you are, my friend. It is a very important part of why you are here on this planet. And, in time, it will answer many questions. Questions that I cannot even answer,’ the guide said. Aluum tried to take it all in. ‘It appeared similar in colour to the blood you spoke about before, yet different. Yes, I realised this and I also somehow understand what colours are and my eyes could somewhat tell each of them apart. Yet, I could not quite get to the source. What was that source?’ Aluum asked the guide. ‘That I cannot answer. It’s the origin of your species. Your people. Your birth. Your life. Your death.’ ‘Death? But I am still alive here on this desolate planet. How can it be the source of my death?’ she asked. ‘I meant, even in death. Of course you are alive. We all die eventually, my friend. It is merely a cycle, birth to death,’ the guide replied. ‘And after death?’ asked Aluum. ‘One step at a time. You are going too fast. Go back to the colour purple. What did it feel like on your skin?’ the guide asked.
Aluum thought back to the scene and to the bizarre source of all the lights. ‘I know. It felt very similar to that water substance that I had initially felt on my first few days on this planet. The sensation on my skin, especially when I splashed it all over my body. And…’ The voice interrupted Aluum and said: ‘Yes. Go on my friend, think harder. What did it feel like? Go deeper, please.’ Aluum began to move her arms and body. ‘I felt like I was floating on this substance. And then I was being pushed towards something, away from the source, but only to this purple light. My body had no control. Faster. Even quicker, it pushed. Stronger, yet I did not feel afraid. Onwards,’ Aluum shouted to the guide. ‘Oh my! I know what it is now. The purple, the liquid, this feeling on my entire body, the source,’ Aluum said. ‘Tell me,’ the voice asked. ‘I was on it. A journey. My journey. My people’s journey. It was the Purple River,’ Aluum said with a new purpose.
‘The Purple River!’ Aluum shouted out three times. ‘What is that?’ asked Aluum. The guide replied: ‘A river is a large volume of water that does indeed flow from a source to an output section, but it is never a purple colour. It is normally blue or brown on the visible eye, but water is transparent and is found everywhere. There are rivers even on this planet, but you have not found them yet, only small pools. The Purple River is your journey, my friend. You need to find it in order to find out who you are, and why you are here. I cannot help you on this quest,’ the guide stated. She tried to engage with the guide again, but similar to previous encounters it merely went silent. Aluum focused her mind again and was getting better at re-entering dreams. Aluum tried to find the Purple River in the dream. She quickly felt her body float to the top of a river. A head appeared above the surface. She looked around at the river and its colour. It was not purple, but a blue colour. Aluum lay on her back and floated away.
C H A P T E R 15
Zirva
The sun was rising above the highest peak. It sprung Zirva into life. The orange, early morning light came through the small windows of the meeting room to display her lean body. While standing upright, she glanced towards the orange morning light, closed her eyes and welcomed the start of the new day. Zirva then began to walk around the table. She touched each member of the Collective on the left shoulder, before proceeding to the next hooded individual. She didn’t say a word. All members of the Collective remained silent. Zirva continued her walk around the table, pausing at each member before returning back to the head of the table. Zirva crossed her arms behind her back. I now call upon the ancient Yarracullan gods. She whispered the same words, but slower now - holding each syllable longer than the previous one. She sat down and removed her semi-headed cloak. She spoke louder: ‘The time for secrets is over. The time for your identity to be revealed to all of us has come,’ she said. She asked all the members to remove their cloaks. One by one, they obeyed her request. Each pair of eyes naked watching in anticipation.
As Zirva watched each member uncloak and reveal their identity, she recalled her tutor and teacher. Oh Gull, if you were here now, you would see my power; my energy. Our ambition is almost complete. Even your own Hawthorn tribe would finally have to respect you. The image of Gull now appearing clear in her mind, with his stature almost half of hers. His words echoing again in her head. So clear. So loud. ‘Learn about the old sciences, the old gods and how to harness this power from nature. Only these powers will unlock the Yarracullan monopoly on power,’ he had taught her. Her face was focused on the revealing faces of the Collective. Her mind on Gull. She moved her small finger to the corner of her eye and rubbed its moisture back into her skin. Fareth has tried to outlaw your practice of worshipping the old gods and bring them into line with the modern rule of Atisian science, but he has failed.
The faces of the Collective members were revealed now. Their full physical identities not a secret anymore. All seven faces turned as Zirva spoke. All seven remained silent; all their eyes on her. The sun had risen above the mountain and its full power was shining in the room. Zirva moved her hands away from the darkened table. Not a sound. I sense his presence, his aura. Zirva rose from her seat. Looking around at the puzzled faces, she spoke. ‘I have re-discovered the lost power of my people. A tool of destruction that will bring about the collapse of the Tarracullans and a return to the age of when the Yarracullans were at their peak. This coming battle is not one of military might, nor physical destruction, but one of awakening. A return of our species to the true Atis and its proper origins.’ A hexagon prism of sunlight splattered Zirva’s face, as it broke through a multi-holed window. A few of the Collective members broke the silence with fast gulps of breathing. The wind outside the room got stronger. The branches of the trees were creaking and whistling as she uttered each word. Zirva reached into her brother’s bag and placed the small bottle of liquid on the table. She reached for the bottle and held it in her left hand. ‘What I have in my hand is the tool I mentioned. Its substance has the power to reawaken everything on this planet…but preserve us,’ she motioned her hands around, pointing at each member. A Collective member swirled her head around to meet the howls of the wind and the cracking of the trees’ branches. Its sound volume increasing. ‘With this power, we, the Collectives, can seize power and return our people to our former glory,’ Zirva said.
A male Collective member began to shift in his seat. He was visible like the rest. He glanced around the room. He rubbed his hand across his white face. He pulled on his bushy beard and whispered a few words towards her.
Zirva glanced at him, smiling. Her pupils grew bigger as she spoke. ‘All of you know very well how the last battle was won. Some 300 years ago, t
hese filthy Tarracullans had the help of some entity, clearly from another world. We had ruled this great planet and then suddenly this fake king, Fareth’s grandfather, assumed control,’ she said. She asked: ‘How?’ her voice gaining in strength and volume with each. She spoke louder. The wind in the trees outside also increased more in volume, swirling with the nature’s heart beat. ‘They poisoned us. They killed us. They wiped out our people. We were once millions and now we’re only thousands. They had a secret weapon,’ she cried out loud. The Collective remained silent. ‘This poison came to our planet and killed my people, yours. They created a vicious avalanche of germs,’ she said out loud, her voice now a high pitch. The sunlight had vanished from the room. Some branches of a tree scratched on a window. No one noticed. No one turned to the light, or the window. All eyes were focused on Zirva.
‘How come these higher class Tarracullans were not affected from these germs? All the other tribes’ numbers were diminished, but not them. They had to be immune,’ she said. Zirva paused and took a long deep breath and continued. ‘They must have initiated this attack and had help from whatever entity this deadly germ came from,’ said Zirva. A short breeze from the open window behind Zirva caught her dark hair momentarily and blew around her shoulders, slapping her chin. She flicked it backwards and it swung back down behind her back. ‘I have doubts about this.’ Zirva’s head jerked to the left were the voice had come from. The woman was twitching frantically with her red cloak as she spoke up. Finally! I have waited patiently for my time to intervene. ‘But we have always been told this germ, or whatever it was, originated from our planet. Some said it was a result of our greed and quest to destroy the planet’s resources and that it was not from another planet. Whatever it was, it almost killed us all. We need strong proof,’ the woman added. The heels of the red cloaked-female were tapping fast on the surface under the table as she spoke. Zirva cast her a look and narrowed her eyes. The tapping under the table stopped.
Zirva held the bottle aloft while glancing out of the window where the trees were beginning to sway more violently. Nature returned her glance, with the branches of the larger trees encircling the building’s windows now. The room was getting darker now. A suffocating noise of crunching and a deep whistle pierced the atmosphere in the room. The building vibrated. Zirva held out her right arm, while waving her index finger at the female in the red cloak. ‘And I have proof. Here in this bottle. It is the purple germ they used. The purple killer. The purple blood. The purple proof,’ she said. Zirva drew her breath. The entire building began to shake violently and the trees had engulfed its structures. Members of the Collective were getting worried. But all stayed seated and focused on Zirva. ‘Now I have their defence. Now I have the weapon that shall protect us from the next germ attack. This bottle contains no normal liquid. It is the last of its kind,’ she said. The trees outside momentarily stopped their swaying. The members around the table held their breaths. Zirva pointed at the bottle. ‘This is what those deceitful Tarracullans used to protect themselves. I have the antidote now,’ she said.
C H A P T E R 16
Tiuus
Tiuus began to prepare the night before his departure. He glanced at his small bag and was content with it. He had spent most of the night reading everything on the chip that Samarth had given him about Wormblack. He began to store all the essential data from the chip. We, Maniths pride ourselves on being of a higher intellect - data absorbing is easy. Word for word. Code by code and number by number. He tapped the side of his head with his index finger. ‘Nothing was missed or left out,’ he whispered. He burned the chip.
Yawning, he sat up straight and stared at the window facing east. The sun started to appear in the distance. Good god! It’s just after five. My morning rising call. No need for an alarm.
Tiuus stepped out of the shower at exactly 5:15am and grabbed a towel. The cloth absorbed the dripping water from his naked body instantly. He opened the window facing the shower and the early morning sun rays touched his naked body. He rubbed some oil all over his body and his body glistened from the warm water, the oil and the rays of the rising sun.
The large, steamy mirror managed to give out a picture of his body frame. He filled the entire mirror. He rubbed the towel over his dark hair. His light brown hand wiped part of the mirror clean. He peered into the small space and his black eyes stared back at him. He ran his fingers through his clunky dark hair. He looked down and seen his genitals emerge. His heart began to race. The mirror steamed up again. He caught his genitals in one hand and carefully moved them from left to right, as he rubbed the towel in between them to dry them. He grunted. Like the being itself, these are of a proper size. A Manith of a natural security pillar. His eyes dilated as he thought about the mission at hand. His genitals began to throb. He returned the towel to the hook, dressed and went downstairs to prepare for his journey.
Tiuus drank two cups of a liquid; its liquorice odour steaming from the beaker. He felt his body and mind kick rapidly into focus. ‘Zurom, my morning nectar. I will miss you on my trip outside the city walls,’ he whispered. He reached around for a shelve that contained various pills. He pulled out a packed of dried Zurom tablets and put it into his bag. Where is the haw meat? He cut three large slices of grained bread and put some meat on it. He placed his bread and meat on a plate and pushed it into a small rectangle device. Pressed one button that said spice, another said no salt and he hit the heat button. Some seconds later, a ping noise filled the air. He removed the metal plate, held it one hand, while picking up a small pad and pen in the other hand and walked through the open door leading to a balcony. He sat down and placed his food on a table. Tiuus looked at the bright sun, nodded three times, whispered words of thanks and slowly began to eat his early morning meal. He smiled at the sun and shrugged his shoulders. We remain one of the few tribes that still prepare our food, unlike the…. The fresh haw meat in this mouth cut off his thoughts and he chew and digested it to soft deep groans.
Tiuus retrieved the metallic bullet and placed it on the table. Using his small thumb and index finger, he spun the bullet around. It twirled effortlessly with a smooth humming noise. He slapped the palm of his hand down on it. Its hum stopped abruptly. Then he turned the shaft on its bottom, with the long pointed tip towards the sky. Tiuus bent down, turned his head to one side and lay his face on the table, within blowing distance of the bullet. His eyes were fixed on the bullet; he inhaled deeply and let out a sharp gust of air. The bullet fell over, rattled and rolled back towards his lips. Who left you here? What device did you come from? Are you some kind of a code? Tiuus sat up and grabbed the pad and began to write down some codes for the mission in hand. It read: 011A Wormblack; 022B Family; 033C Sister; 044D Termination.
******
Wormblack rose early. He splashed a few handfuls of water from a bucket in the bedroom on his face to wake his senses. The drops fell from the bucket and onto the floor. He quickly rinsed his mouth with water from the same bucket. He looked around the bedroom and then spat some water back into the bucket. He stared at the water in the bucket. He rubbed his eyes and counted the new lines around them. The saliva from his mouth refused to sink into the bucket, so he moved his hand around in the top of the surface and rubbed it dry on his shirt. I am so tired. Something is coming. But what is it? She has never carried out her extortions yet, but there is something different about her now. He shook his head and stumbled upright from the bucket and moved out of the bedroom.
His wife was busy preparing the morning meal. He entered the cooking area, greeted his wife and proceeded to the drinks machine. He pressed a button that read: Moonjuice. A cup slid into place and a green liquid filled the cup. He reached for the cup and left the cooking area. He walked to his library, took a book from a pile of books on the floor. He pushed some books out of the way that were on a cushion and sat down on it in the corner of the room. He shook his head as he scanned the room, but fidgeted his body further into the seat nonetheless. He dran
k the moonjuice and read from his book.
Wormblack lost track of time. His stomach grumbled, but he ignored it. His wife asked one of the children to leave some food outside the door of his study and a jug of moonjuice. As she went to collect the items, she seen that the liquid beaker was empty. And his favourite pie with various vegetables inside untouched. Why has he lost his appetite? She stood up and glanced at the closed door to his library. She hesitated and moved away a few steps from the door, but then turned around. ‘Has your insufferable insomnia returned?’ she asked in a soft tone. Silence from the closed room. She walked away holding the tray of uneaten food, looking downwards. She heard his words, but kept walking down the steps. ‘I have a busy day ahead of me, as the Vanguards are due to meet and, as ever, they need me to be well prepared and knowledgeable.’ Wormblack was behind the closed door and standing up. He exhaled a deep stuttering breath of air.
C H A P T E R 17
Glow Mountain
A slow stream of blood was flowing from her head, close to where she lay still. The rock beside her head caked with dry blood stains. Her eyes were closed. I cannot feel my body, yet my mind is alert. Is this another dream? Where am I? Slowly, Aluum swam to its murky surface, while reaching out for something solid to hold on to. Nothing came. Nothing appeared. She swam on. The guide has not come to me for some time, yet I feel this purple river is somehow my new means on which to gain the information I need. She floated to its top, with the solid-like water substance keeping her moving, but ever so slowly. She then saw its image. First a land of sorts, then taller grey matter erected on the land. Aluum shouted! ‘Was this merely a dream again?’ she asked. No reply. She continued to swim and let the purple river guide her towards the images. They came into view and were much larger. Aluum felt at ease in the purple river. She felt its powers. I can communicate freely, think clearly and reason very vividly here. Unlike on the dry planet, here I feel like someone or something real. She had reached the image.
