But death exists here. These people were used to that. They know how to cope with it. With that thought, I turned and walked back to the infirmary.
Tania was still there, wringing out a soft white cloth over a bowl of cool water and placing it back on Stevanion’s forehead. She looked at me as I walked in.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“Better,” I mumbled.
I looked at Stevanion, his face seemingly more relaxed than before.
“Tania,” I said quietly, “do you think he will die?”
Tania quickly glanced back at Stevanion. His face remained calm and unmoving.
She then stood up and said, “Let’s get some fresh air, shall we?”
I tilted my head, not understanding. The glassless windows and open door enabled plenty of fresh air in the infirmary. Tania passed me by with less than one IP and then walked to the outside platform. I followed her.
She leaned with her elbows on the fence rope, laced her fingers, and looked down to the green undergrowth below. I came to the rope and leaned on it as well.
“Death is never easy… regardless of who it happens to, it’s never easy,” she said in a quiet voice.
We were silent for a few moments.
I looked at her sad features. She must have been thinking of her own past.
“What do you… how do you… with… persons not alive anymore?” My sentence was broken and frail.
“You mean, the funeral?”
“The funeral?”
“How do we say goodbye to dead people?”
“Yes.”
She lowered her head and closed her eyes, pulling her eyebrows together so that the base of her nose wrinkled. She slowly wiped both of her hands over her face and then brought them back to the fence.
“We burn them.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “What do you do in your world?”
“I don’t know. There aren’t many deaths there.”
“People used to bury their dead in the ground.” Tania’s eyes were empty as she gazed into the distance. “But with the Earth’s overpopulation, it became almost impossible to keep the ground space—any ground space—for the dead… so cremation became mandatory. No space for graves.”
After a few moments of silence, she turned to me and said, “Sometimes, it is difficult… not to be able to visit the place where your loved ones are buried.”
I was sure she was now talking about herself.
“But don’t worry about funerals now, Dora. It might not come to that at all.”
I gave a brief nod. With no clear Vision, I had no idea of how it would end.
As if reading my mind, Tania smiled softly. “It’s difficult for you now, Dora, isn’t it? There are so many new, unusual, and strange things for you to live through… to process, to absorb. All of this just takes time.”
She moved her body forward, leaning over the fence, looking down to the greenery underneath.
“But I think you should still do the trip,” she said. “It will do you good. It will take your mind off things… it was the same for me.”
Then she looked at me and said, “And if you feel unwell in any way, health-wise, please, tell me right away, okay?”
“I will, Tania. And I thank you for your assistance with Stevanion.”
“Of course, Dora, you’re welcome.”
I looked down again, the setting sun drawing long shadows on the ground underneath us.
“I think I had better go. Good night, Tania.”
“Good night, Dora.”
The night embraced me in a deep, dreamless sleep, and although I felt rested, I was glad to be woken by the early rays of sunlight passing through my window. The night felt like nothing.
It felt like death.
I sat up on my bed and shivered once. I needed to see Stevanion. I needed to make sure he was still alive.
I dressed quickly and walked through the sleeping village to get to the infirmary. Once I reached the thick dark green leaves at the entrance of the cabin, I stopped. My heart was pounding.
I was afraid.
I didn’t know what to expect, which was a real irony, coming from a Visionaire Senthien.
I swallowed and moved the leaves to the side. Stevanion was still lying in the same bed. His head was turned away from me, but I could tell he was breathing.
I sat on the bed next to him and then got a fright as he turned toward me. His skin was a lot less pale than before.
“Dana.” His voice was harsh as he spoke. “I acknowledge your presence.”
“Stevanion,” I said, nodding slightly. “How do you feel?”
“My health condition is better. I appreciate your concern.”
He tried to lift himself up but wasn’t able to. I reached down and pushed another pillow under his back. When I sat back, I realized he was looking at me with wide-open eyes.
I clearly broke the IP border without even thinking about it. He needed assistance, and there was no doubt in my mind of what I should do.
“We are on Old Earth,” I said to break his stare.
“Yes. A person named Tania told me that,” he said, then stopped for a moment to catch some breath. “I have some reservations regarding its truthfulness.”
“Are you doubting that we are on Earth?”
“Earth is dead, Dana. We have seen the videos. And the only people who say that we are on Earth are Humans.”
“Does this automatically mean that they are lying?”
“It means… that it is difficult to believe them.”
“They are taking care of you, Stevanion.”
“They are not doing a good job. I want to port back.”
I looked at him, not knowing how to respond. After a few moments of silence, I said, “There is a group of Humans who will try and access the computer systems in the old city.”
“Is there a porting chamber there?”
“I do not think so, Stevanion. We are on Old Earth. There were no porting chambers pre-Ev. But what I am hoping is to fully charge my E-band at the power source of the computer facility. If I manage, the E-band will have enough power to create a field.”
“A hyperspace resonance field? You want to connect to the Mind’s porting channels?”
“Yes.”
“The process only works on specific planets, Dana, and only on specific locations.”
“I understand that. But it is our best chance to bring us home, and… to take you to the Anas.”
He looked at me for a long moment and then turned his head away from me.
“Just get us out of here.”
I looked at the back of his head and then dropped my gaze to the floor.
What did I expect? That he would blindly trust the Humans, when from the very beginning he was taught not to? He’s reacting like any other Senthien would. Like any other Descendant would.
I wanted to sigh, but I stopped myself. I got up and said, “I wish that your health continues to improve, Stevanion. I will see you again once I am back from this trip, so we can discuss our departure.”
He turned back to me and said, “I thank you, Dana. May Torquemada Joseph Nadraque watch over you.”
I nodded and turned around.
It’s going to be something completely different keeping me safe. And definitely not the High Zlathar Priest.
I walked through the doors.
I wandered inconspicuously around the tree village during the morning hours, scanning the ground and fields trying to find J. It was funny of me, really, because if I did find him, I would probably hide, not knowing what to say to him or how to act.
It was stupid. I definitely wasn’t showing qualities of exquisite genetic manipulation here. But here on Earth, with J, I found it difficult to be the calm, wise Senthien. Neither my brain nor my body responded in the way I was used to. I kept thinking about him. It felt as if he was always there, right behind me, and I just needed to turn around and he would be standing less than one IP away, smiling
, lifting his arm and opening his hand to take mine, as I’d seen him doing in my Visions.
How was it possible for one person to be so ever-present in another’s thoughts? My higher brain centers seemed incapacitated, and that was truly distracting. The most disturbing thing of all was that none of these symptoms were recorded on my nanoprobe encyclopedia, so I couldn’t even find out what this was all about.
Annoying!
I had just left the fields, happy to be in the forest and away from the heat of the sun, when I saw a group of men talking a few IPs from the climbing tree. J was standing at the edge, and I could see him from the side. None of them noticed me, so they continued talking. I stopped and moved slightly sideways behind a thick tree. Like this, I could look at him unobserved. Perhaps it would give me a better understanding of why he was constantly on my mind.
His scruffy hair was falling on his forehead, and his shoulders and broad back made a shadow over the rest of his body. I leaned with my hands on the tree to bend further sideways while my eyes glided down his tall frame. The thin shirt was tucked inside his beige trousers, which hung loosely on his hips and fell down all the way to his bare feet.
My mouth felt dry and I needed to swallow. I wiped the sweat from my palms on the tree bark and continued looking. He ran his fingers through his hair, and then crossed his arms on his chest. I could see him breathing, his chest moving slowly, as he listened to the person in the front. He moved his weight from one leg to another, and that made his buttock muscles shift.
I licked my lips, trying to moisten my dry mouth.
“What are you doing here?” I heard a loud voice coming from the side. I pushed away from the tree and looked at her. It was Julie, the woman I had seen at the Boolean Institute, again. She walked toward me, stopping less than one IP away. “Why are you sneaking around? What are you looking at?”
She looked sideways at the men. All of them were now looking at us.
“I… I wasn’t sneaking.”
She narrowed her eyes, then looked at J and then back at me. And then she laughed in a most unnatural way. “You were looking at J, weren’t you?”
I swallowed. “No. I wasn’t.”
By this time, J was coming toward us. He stopped one IP away from me, then touched Julie’s shoulder with his hand and gently pushed her away from me so that she was more than one IP away as well.
“So, ladies,” he said looking at her and then at me, “is there a problem?”
Julie snorted. “She—” She raised a finger toward me. “She was watching you. She was eyeing you!”
Oh, no, no, no, this is not good! I wanted to say something, I wanted to defend myself, but my voice was gone.
“Really?” J looked at me, surprised, his confident composure gone.
My breath was locked in and I could not say anything. I had completely lost control over my body.
“What do you mean, ‘really’? Yes, really,” Julie said and moved forward, but J instantly raised his arm to stop her from moving closer to me. “And I can’t even imagine why! They”—she pushed her chin toward me in a disgusted way—“can’t even do anything! They are completely incapable of it.”
I clenched my hands into fists and brought back the Senthien. Though my heartbeat was loud under my rib cage, I said in the calmest of voices, “Humans are an interesting species to observe.”
“Bloody hell! Observing. She was looking at your butt!” Julie spit out.
“Hmmm, game-spotting, ey?” J said, arching his eyebrow. My Senthien was gone yet again and I was speechless.
His head tilted, a mischievous smile on his lips, he was looking at my eyes. Then he slowly shifted his gaze to my lips. And this did something unexplainable to me. My heartbeat sped up instantly and a new indescribable craving rose deep, deep inside my belly. All of a sudden, I was lacking air.
I need to get out of here.
I let out a shaky breath and said weakly, “I’d… better leave.”
And I walked in between J and Julie to the climbing tree, hoping I still had the strength to climb up and get back to my hut.
I looked outside. Night had fallen, and it was soon time to go to the meeting at Mike’s hut. I folded my day clothes in a cupboard as Tania had showed me and then put on an evening dress. I had started to like it, the new clothes. Though somewhat distracting on a sensory level, it made me feel… free.
I looked at the dimming light of the fading day with a contented smile on my lips. I felt serene now, though it had taken me a long time to reach this level of calmness after the small disaster this afternoon. I understood now what had happened. It was very clear to me: I was simply gathering information. It is a basic Senthien feature—we need to observe in order to project accurate Visions. And that’s all there was to it.
I stood and walked to the door, but just as I moved the curtain aside, I froze in place. The breath I took in a moment ago stayed locked in.
J was standing right in front of me, slightly taken off guard himself.
“Dora.”
“J.”
“Ahem, I was… I was just about to get you. The meeting started.”
“Oh,” I muttered as I finally exhaled, lowering my gaze.
He was wearing his shorts again and his chest was bare, the muscles underneath his skin tight from a hard day’s work.
My serenity was gone as if it was never there to begin with. I closed my eyes for an instant and then opened them, focusing on his eyes, but his eyes were not on mine. Instead, he was looking at my lips.
Oh.
My heart was beating frantically, and I started feeling dizzy again. I was afraid my knees would let go.
And then he took a step backward, coughed once in his fist, and looked me in the eyes. “Are you ready? Shall we go?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
He smiled an awkward smile and then turned and walked over the bridge. I didn’t move; my feet were glued to the floor. It took me a few moments to engage my automotive brain centers and start walking. My knees were shaking, my heart was pounding, and my stomach felt queasy.
He turned his head slightly and looked at me sideways. “So, did you have a good… afternoon?”
After the embarrassing episode that happened earlier, you mean? “Yes.”
“Do anything special?”
“I filed and categorized the images and recordings of Earth’s flora that I have collected so far.” I sighed in relief. It felt good to talk about something rational. I was calm, and my train of thoughts was once again organized and methodical. Back on track.
“Ah… yes… interesting,” he said.
“No. Not really. But it needs to be done to keep order in the storage space.”
“Storage space? Of?”
“Nanoprobes, of course.”
“Of course.”
I frowned. If it was clear to him, why did he ask in the first place? I shook my head, dismissing the thought.
“And nanoprobes are… ?” He raised his eyebrows in a question.
“You do not know?”
“No. At least not under that name.”
“They are inbuilt storage and data processing chips.”
“Okay, so I don’t know it… under any name,” he said under his breath. “And they are inbuilt—where?”
“Most of them are in the brain. Some nanoprobes circulate the bloodstream, but their role is more related to health homeostasis. One of the most useful attributes of these devices is that the data are not modified in any way upon retrieval. They always stay the same.”
“As opposed to… ?”
“Real memories. Every time we access a real memory saved in the brain, we change it at the same time.”
J looked at the floor, his face turning serious. He didn’t say anything.
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. Did I say something wrong?
I tried to rewind the conversation, wondering what had changed his mood all of a sudden.
Then he
lifted his head and took a deep breath. “So, I spoke to Tania today. She said Stevanion is getting better.” He turned his head to me.
“Yes, I know. I went to the infirmary in the morning.” I didn’t mention the conversation I had with Stevanion, though. J didn’t need to hear Stevanion’s opinion of Humans.
When we arrived at Mike’s hut, J opened the leaf curtain, but then he stood next to it, waiting for me to pass. There was less than a quarter of an IP between him and me. It made a very narrow gap.
I looked at the door and then back at him again. He’s not expecting me to walk past him so narrowly, is he?
J tilted his head with a subtle smile on his lips. “The IP space, I know. But you’re on a new planet now. New rules. It’s slowly time to get used to it. After you,” he said and motioned with his head for me to go first.
Realizing that he wouldn’t change his mind, I swallowed and quickly stepped forward. Though I was fast, I could see from the corner of my eye that he was looking at me. I felt his breath on my shoulders and my neck as I passed him by. And that had such an effect on me that, once I was inside the hut, I sat on the closest chair I could find, just as my knees gave in.
Mike’s cottage seemed crowded. Everyone else was already here, standing in small groups, engaged in discussions. In an IP area suitable for four people, eight chairs were arranged in a circle. Several candles lit the room, giving it a warm feel with soft shadows dancing on the wooden walls.
Mike took a seat opposite me and J sat on an empty chair just next to him. “Shall we start?” J asked.
In a few moments, everybody found a seat and quieted down.
“I think everyone knows Dora by now,” Mike said to the others.
Everybody looked at me and nodded their heads. I felt self-conscious but kept my trained calm Senthien pose.
“I’m not sure you know everyone here, Dora, so let me quickly introduce them for you. J and Peter you know already. Rick you’ve met, right?”
I nodded.
“Patrick and Simon were in the party that found you. And—Frank, I don’t think you’ve met yet.”
“Correct,” I said.
Frank waved.
“All right, let’s get started.”
The Senthien (Descendants of Earth Book 1) Page 11
