The Ways Between Worlds: Peter Cooper

by Larry E. Clarke

  As I was observing them the disk above my couch began to glow and suddenly I was gone too. . . then I was there. Unlike the experience when I first came to this world there was no particular discomfort. There was not even much of a sense of disorientation. This equipment had been carefully calibrated by trained operators. The set up on the moon had been automatic and not set to my species specific specs.

  Early morning light was slanting in from a broken archway on the East side of the dome as I slid slowly from the table. The air here was different, dustier, more permeated by the smell of the nearby woods. I put down my packs and watched as Mola and Omeera appeared one after another on nearby couches. Dhars and Lady Camille moved to help me, and the others, with equipment.

  Within a few minutes we had returned to the chambers occupied by Lady V. during her long watch at this site. The hidden door slid open as it detected the presence of our disks. Lady had described her quarters and encouraged us to make use of them during our previous training runs to this site. Now they would serve as a more permanent base of operations for Mola, Omeera, and Dhars. The quarters were located to the northern, and most intact, side of the domed chamber. Several types of skylight/light tubes fed natural light into all the rooms. The furnishings were over sized to accommodate the larger bulk of the Kwajilli. The walls were of muted colors, mostly earth tones, but here and there they were hung with portraits of individuals I took to be the Lady's friends and family. There were decorative sculptures and also shelves and electrical equipment whose functions I now recognized easily. There were a few items I’d not seen before. Perhaps they were for entertainment. . . or perhaps some easy means of monitoring the operations of the station. There was no bed, as the Kwajilli slept standing. There were, however, a number of raised platforms covered with cushions and a large table obviously meant for dining. The Lady had given us all some basic instructions of the operation of the appliances/apparatus for food storage and preparation. The lighting, both natural and artificial, could be raised or lowered by swiping a hand along a plate near the doors of each room. All in all it would be the most comfortable accommodation we had enjoyed since leaving Arthena.

  We each chose a sleeping area and stowed the gear and supplies we had brought with us. It was still early, perhaps just an hour after sunrise. We used the communications equipment to contact the team at the Departure site to advise them of our arrival then had a brief meeting to plan our activities. I cautioned the others about the possibility of encountering drakor and advised that all travel initially in groups of at least two until the area could be scouted. Mola, Omeera and Lady Camille would spend the morning rechecking the operation of the equipment. If time permitted they would also begin an inventory of spare parts located behind a sealed door near the main chamber.

  Dhars and I would locate the three sleds and check them out to make sure each was operational. Eventually one of these would be flown back to the departure terminal giving each site two working sleds to support operations. We'd meet again at midday for lunch and have a chance to report our progress.

  Three days later we'd completed each task on our checklist for the arrival site. Dhars, Lady Camille and I prepared to depart with two of the flying sleds. I was somewhat hesitant about leaving Mola and Omeera alone until they reminded me: “Petar you fuss and fret about us like a mother hrranth with one pup. If we were ever in danger we'd just close ourselves in Lady V's quarters. . . or set the transport controls to automatic and send ourselves back to the departure site. Besides we’ll be in electronic contact with the other site and with the sleds. We'll check in with you every six to 8 hours. So. . . don't worry about us. . . go, reunite with your friends and let Dhars return to his family.

  The next morning the three of us lifted off in two sleds just as the sun was coming up. We made a slow flat turn and headed West. As we rose from the terminal area we could see the enormous trees that were the home of the Nuga and their magnificent kyrien. We glimpsed a number of these birds soaring above the treetops. If they noticed us. . . they paid no heed.

  We flew on in relatively close formation. The sleds seemed to have no operational limit on their ceiling but they were s-l-o-w. The units marked on the minimal controls were Kwajili and therefore nothing I could relate to. My best estimate was that their top speed was perhaps 60 kph. Although slow they were a reliable, stable platform regardless of the local weather. Once a speed had been set it was maintained without variation. Neither headwinds nor turbulenace seemed to have any effect on them. They just kept on plugging away. Although our journey would be orders of magnitude faster than the outbound trip we had begun more than a year ago it still would take days. To prepare for this we had rigged a shelter and bed in the aft sections of both sleds. By rotating the piloting among the three of us one could rest and sleep while the others were at the controls. We had some concern about possibly flying into an obstacle during the hours of darkness. To see what the craft would do we found a low hill. . . descended to a level which would result in a collision just below it's summit and steered in that direction. As we approached the craft ascended and steered around the obstacle on it's own. The auto-piloting would probably protect us from our own inexperience. Still we would to keep someone at the controls until we were more certain that no pilot was actually needed after the course had been set.

  It was about two hours after dawn the next morning when the two sleds settled quayside in Mon-Ton. We grabbed our bags and shouldered our way through the small crowd which had begun to assemble. . . having two airships land quayside was not an every day occurrence. With perhaps 50 long strides we arrived at the front door of the Cornered Vannu, pulled it open and stepped inside. There were several customers inside finishing a late breakfast or maybe having their first drink of the day.

  Uhrs was just coming in from the back room with a large armload vegetables and foodstuffs he probably just purchased in the market district. Molan was in the kitchen.

  “Any chance of getting a piece of Jub-jub pie?” I called toward them. Moltan was the first to recognize us “Bless the gods. . . Bless the gods. . . our Petar and Dhars and Lady have returned. Quick Urs. . . clear that best table. . . they must be hungry. Send the boy to fetch Leeta from her school”. Uhrs, not typically demonstrable, had by this time encircled both Dhars and me in an enormous hug. Under his breath he kept repeating “You're alive. . . not dead. . . alive. . . your're alive. . . not dead. . . alive!”

  It took perhaps five minutes for the initial greetings and exclamations of surprise and delight to settle down. Moltan and Uhrs were hugging me and Dhars while doing their best to “pet” Lady. She rumbled a chuckle and was clearly pleased at their delight in seeing all of us. Just as we were deciding we would sit and have some breakfast a red streak flew into the room. . . “Petar. . . Petar. . . Dhars. . . Lady. . . I was so afraid. . . Uhrs and Moltan told me to keep faith that you were resourceful and not easy to kill but I feared I'd never see you again.”

  She was crying and I think most of the rest of us joined her for a while. Finally I gently pushed her back to arms length. “Let me look at you. . . You have really grown. When I left you were a beautiful and clever girl. . . now I see a beautiful and clever young woman. . .you have grown up. Uhrs and Moltan must have been taking great care of you”

  “They have Petar. . . they have. They have been real parents to me. I love them with all my heart.”

  Uhrs closed up shop and we spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon bringing each other up to date on all that had happened since our expedition left through the Northern gate more than a year (i.e. more than 400+ days) ago. Leeta was enrolled in a sort of “finishing school”, the best in the city. She learned not only basic sciences and literature but also the social graces and the martial arts that made up the curriculum. She was an excellent student, especially in the martial arts. She described her love for Uhrs and Moltan as if they were her biological parents. I shared with her that I had some news about other members o
f her biological family. I went on to tell of her grandparents and uncle and cousins in the Threatian capitol. Although she had only the haziest and recollections of her grandparents she was nonetheless moved to hear of their overwhelming joy at the news she was alive. They had very much wanted to see her. Who knew??? With the opening of the Ways such a trip might be possible even with their advancing age.

  In a quieter moment I motioned for Uhrs and Moltan to join me near the kitchen: “I have another surprise for you”

  “No Petar. . . you have given us so much. . . the beautiful sunstones from Voquira. . . and just to have you here once more. . . it is all too much.”

  “But I have saved the best for now” I said drawing Ferst’s letter from my pocket. He'd written their names on the top layer of the folded surface. They recognized the handwriting. Both began to weep and with trembling hands took the precious bit of paper. It had been wet, and stained in the course of our travels but the ink must have been permanent for it was still quite legible. At Ferst's insistence I had read the letter before he folded and sealed it. I recalled the contents as my friends eagerly absorbed each precious line. I knew they would and re-read 100 times in the next weeks how Ferst has encountered and fought the salt pirates. How he had been taken prisoner and taken back to Arthenia. There he was sold as a sort of indentured servant (only a little better than a slave). After three years of work for a tough, but fair, master/employer he had learned the silver smithing trade. The master offered to make him an apprentice but Ferst elected instead to follow a girl he had met in the shop back to her home in Elethia, a small town outside of the capital. There he worked a small farm with her parents. Within a year he and Bellacia were married. They continue to work the farm, to sell vegetables in the markets of the city and raise their two children (Uhrs and Molan's grandchildren). Astari their grandson is now about three years of age and Daalii their granddaughter a little less than two.

  “Petar” they spoke almost in unison. . . “How can we thank you. . . Frest alive. . . happily married. . .and us with two grandchildren”

  “No thanks needed. It was incredible good fortune that a fellow from of Elethia heard of the Dumpling's arrival in port after we escaped Voquira. . . and even more good fortue that he mentioned other travelers from across the great salt had been aboard. Had he not. . . Ferst might never have come looking for us, looking for news from home. As soon as he found us we began the game most everyone plays after asking 'Where are you from”. . . Then you must know xxxx?. . . or perhaps yyyy?. . . and their cousin zzzzz?” It did not take long to establish the connection and to promise if I ever made it back here to deliver his letter.”

  At mid afternoon Dhars announced “I am reluctant to leave good company but am also very eager to see my family and report to the Governor (I have since learned that a better translation might be “Chief Administrator) in Llhaven. If I leave now I can be there in less time than it would take to walk twice around the city walls. Petar, will you and Lady still be joining me in 6 days?”

  “That is still our plan. Where shall we land. . . park?. . . when we arrive?.”

  “I suggest you touch down on the grass inside the administration compound. It is a good sized building on the bluff above the river. You can recognize it by the surrounding gardens. If you will arrive at mid day I'm sure the Administrator will want to have a formal welcoming ceremony for you.

  We all rose and accompanied him back to the sled he would fly to Llhaven via Olmos. The crowds had kept a respectful distance. Perhaps they were uncertain if it were safe to approach closely. Before he left I climbed up beside him. We rose a few feet in the air to afford the crowd of about 500 people a better view.

  Dhars began: “People of Mon-Ton. . . most of you will recognize me as Dhars Flonstrad Mercour. More than a year ago you saw my daughter Sontiere pulled from the icy river waters by this man. . . Petar Cooper. You will recall that Petar and I later joined a party to travel West across the great salt in search of a second site left by the old ones.

  In the course of our journey we faced many hazards, and made many new friends. I can tell you that we were more successful than we could have imagined in our mission. For the present I can say no more. . . my duty is to first report to the chief administrator and the other government officials. I can tell you that my heart is much gladdened to be once more in my home country to be in Mon-Ton and to soon to be reuniting with my family. I entreat you to allow Petar time to see his old friends here in Mon-Ton without bedeviling him with too many questions. (Here the crowd chuckled).

  I hopped over the side of the sled to land on the ground about a meter and a half below. Dhars took the controls. The sled rose, turned slowly down river and in a few minutes was out of site.

  As we passed through the crowd greetings were shouted “. . . buy you a drink soon. . .so good to see you alive. . . can't keep a good riverman down. . . etc. One greeting stood out “Will you be coming to see me while you are here Petar?” It was an invitation more than a question, an invitation from the comely young widow who lived in the street of the dressmakers. I stopped, took her hand and kissed it gently. “ Keesla Diwajan. you are a vision. . . .I've thought of you so often. Please, if you are free come join us inside. . . I led her back to the Vannu with the rest of the party”.

  Six days later Lady C and I joined Dhars and the chief administrator in Llhaven. There was a lot of formal hoopla. . . which I did not really mind. I spent several hour answering questions for their science council and some top officials of the government. I presented the mission log book I'd somehow managed to hang on to throughout our travels.

  The council members were understanding, simultaneously relieved and disappointed when they were advised that things were likely to proceed very slowly in re-opening the Ways. Dhars and I both outlined the training we had received from Lady V. We spoke of the condition of the Arrival and Departure terminals and described the sophistication of the operating systems for the Ways, how they would respond only to trained keepers and not even then if that keeper were troubled or distressed.

  The time I enjoyed most were the two days we spent with Dhars, Roueena and Sontiere at their home. It was good to be back in a normal family household. I'd missed it. With more than a little nostalgia I recalled the happy times Leeta, Lady C, and I had had in our little quarters at the Cornered Vannu. These surroundings were more elegant, but just as warm and welcoming. Sontiere and her new husband joined us for supper the night before out departure. She was a strikingly beautiful as I had remembered. Her husband was a mid-level scientist/teacher she had met in a short adult education course he gave at the local museum. His field was natural history/biology. He did seem to be a fine person and was still a young man although a few years older than she.

  As Dhars, Lady C and I relaxed in the garden that evening Dhars offered: “You know Petar. . . it may be foolish. . . but after you rescued Sontirere I had thoughts that perhaps one day I might have you for a son-in-law. . . not that I am at all displeased with Sontiere's choice of Jastach”

  “You know Dhars, my friend. . . that is not a foolish thought at all. Sontiere is an amazing young woman. . . I could have been very happy as her husband and part of the Flonstrad-Mercour household. . . but instead I'm lured off to another planet by another enchanting Lady. . . one with four legs instead of the usual two.” From the Lady's direction I heard the low fluttering rumble she made whenever she heard or saw something amusing.

  We left after breakfast the next morning. Dhars would fly back to the Arrival Terminal while Lacy C and I would fly the second sled on for use at the departure site. Roueena and Sontiere were reassured a half dozen times that Dhars would rejoin them in less than 30 days. At that time they would make plans to relocate to the arrival terminal although they would return often to Llhaven to take care of business and to see friends and family.

  Using the same “one flies/one rests” schedule which had served us thus far we set off up river. By the end of the day we had
crossed the pass and were well on our way down the “seaward” side of the mountains bound for Oost. We stopped for the night and were delighted to find that Friend was in residence. He had already completed his customary early spring trading trip to Mon-Ton. His reaction to seeing us was little short of what one might expect in someone who had just seen ghosts. We found our old expedition mate Verek was also in Oost. He had come this far on the return trip to Mon Ton before falling ill. He was now fully recovered and just awating another trading party to cross with which he could cross the pass and return home. We spent an entire evening bringing him up to date on all that had happened since we parted in the Arthenian capital.

  Our flying sleds were once again an immediate source of interest for all the townspeople. I addressed the crowds in Oost, echoing the speech Dhars had given in Mon-Ton. I outlined the eventual reopening of the Ways in a very limited capacity noting that the equipment could only be operated by a trained Keeper in a peaceful, “serene”, state of mind. I also described the changes in rule at Voquira and the intent of the Arthenians to open regular trade with the eastern shore. . . Something of great interest to the merchants and sailors along the coast.

  Next stop was in the home of captain Thark-qan to inform his relatives and those of the Dumpling’s crew about the ship’s fate. We listed all the crew we knew had survived and speculated that most had chosen to sail the Dumpling home again now that trade via Voquira was opening up.

  Three days later our one-sled-air-flotilla was westward bound across the great salt. Even though the sleds were intended for short term hauling at slow speeds they had the Kwajili version of GPS. Lady V had carefully shown us how to bring up a map of the planet on a small screen. . . locate the destination to which we wished to travel, tap the proper controls and find a compass-needle-like arrow on the screen point the way to that destination. This made it possible to navigate across the great salt without difficulty. Only half a day out we spotted a ship approaching more or less along our own heading.