Mparntwe
Page 24
Mirri smiled then took over again and persuaded the teenage girl to carefully hold the frog for a moment before letting it go ‘home’. The girl looked very diffident about touching it, and when Jarra asked Mirri later why he’d chosen her to hold it instead of her brother, Mirri told him that she liked the frog more and it would be happy with her friendly hands. In the valley, when it was time for lunch, Jarra waited, with some embarrassment, but not really, while Mirri co-opted the whole group to help make a proper bed so he could rest comfortably while they went farther along to check for any activity at an eagle’s eyrie which Mirri had discovered on a previous expedition. Jarra caught the smile passing between Mirri’s two helper guides and, wondering what he’d missed, gave them a querying look.
‘It happens all the time, Jarra. No ordinary guide would have two senators, a state governor and two fairly spoilt youngsters happily running hither and thither for grass and leaves to help make a bed. That boy was almost obnoxious at the Explorer Centre while we were waiting for Mirrigan to arrive.’
That boy, with no sign of any obnoxious behaviour or attitude, sat right next to Mirri while everyone ate the packed lunches the helper guides produced from their backpacks. His sister sat on the other side and they both asked non-stop questions about things they’d seen or might expect to see. It was interesting to see the contrast between the fair complexion of the Americans and Mirri’s almost ebony skin and thick hair. The adults were just as involved and Jarra sensed that some of their questions came from curiosity and anticipation for the way Mirri might answer and some from the startling revelation of his regard by the AIs. When a question was too complex or about something he didn’t know the helper guides would give an answer then fall quiet and let the attention return to Mirri. That didn’t happen much, though, because the group had quickly adopted a suitable pattern of speech.
The lunch finished and Mirri gave what Jarra recognised as one of his checking looks.
‘JJ has to sleep now. He has bad muscles. We will be very quiet and explore the eyrie.’
Chapter 21
Mirri, with Yirgella’s help, did a perfect job of organising their holiday equipment and now that the first day had finally arrived, the pair of them, along with Alira, Darri, and most of Mirri’s family, were waiting at the Vac Train terminal for Karmai and the twins. The last three nights Mirri had painstakingly packed and repacked his big rucksack to make sure everything he was meant to have was present and in its right place, and under Jarra’s scrutiny he’d adjusted the various straps to find the most comfortable position. This was his first ‘real’ explorer’s pack, loaded with enough supplies for eight days in the wild at Gariwerd, and he was so proud he’d taken it to Alkere and on several trips around Mparntwe for ‘wearing in’ which was a phrase he’d learned from Jarra. Jarra was loaded with even more things and the big satchel, which was designed especially to attach to the personal carrier without interfering with the twin’s footrests, contained a self-administering kit for the health bots he would need every second day, the thermal shelter for use if there was rain or if the nights got cold, as well as all the normal clothes and supplies.
‘How long, JJ?’
Jarra was just as eager as Mirri to see Karmai and the twins and to get started on their adventure, and he’d been keeping a close eye on the arrival display.
‘Two more minutes till the train gets here and then they have to come through the pressure portal. Who do you think will be first?’
The train was surrounded by vacuum so there was no platform and a pressurised tube had to lock into place before the exit doors could open.
Mirri laughed. He always got this right.
‘Barega will run. He wants the first hug.’
‘It might be different today. They’ll have extra things to carry.’
Mirri puzzled that through.
‘… They will run and Karmai will carry things.’
And, of course, Mirri was right. The portal opened and the first person to dash through was Barega and there was laughter all round when he jumped from the ground right into Mirri’s arms. Akama was right behind him, and because Mirri was occupied he came to Jarra.
‘Uncle JJ!’
The twins were more and more a part of Jarra and Mirri’s lives and there were constant get-togethers, either from Mirri’s regular trips to help out with the Birringurra corroborees, or visits to Karmai and the fascinating world of Shark Bay and Monkey Mia. With the Vac Train trip taking only half an hour they’d occasionally turn up at Mparntwe as well. Mirri’s idea that they should come on the big adventure had them almost leaping out of their skins with eagerness and the family concerns that six days of walking in bush country might be too difficult for eleven year old boys had been brushed aside with cries that they were almost twelve and that made a big difference, and if Jarra could do it so could they, and that Karmai was a proper ranger and could look after anyone in the bush. Jarra gave Akama an enthusiastic hug.
‘Are you all excited and ready for our holiday?’
‘Barega is like a madman. He’s been driving everyone to distraction with all his comments and demands.’
Distraction? That must be a description from someone else in the family. Akama could well have come up with it himself, because his knowledge of words and manner of speaking was more striking than ever, but somehow it sounded more like a description from an older person. Jarra’s smile and happy feelings grew at the sight of Karmai coming through the portal festooned with luggage.
‘Karmai!’
Mirri rushed to greet his brother with a bone crushing hug. He hadn’t seen him for two whole months which, in Mirri terms, was the same as forever.
‘Explorer man. This is going to be our best adventure yet.’
‘We will see lights in the sky and go inside the mountain.’
Karmai nodded and pointed to everyone else to let Mirri know he had other people to greet. The rest of the hugs were much gentler, except for Burnu’s. The whole group, nearly twenty people, made its way to the terminal for the Adelaide Vac Train and, after a multitude of hugs and well wishes, the five holidaymakers entered the pressure portal and got themselves organised. Jarra’s personal carrier had to be secured in a special compartment with other larger pieces of luggage.
The intercity Vac Trains were bigger then the Mparntwe to Alkere train, with three seats on each side of the central aisle, and Mirri took over the seating allocation when both twins wanted to sit next to him. He shook his head and put Jarra next to him, Akama on the other side of Jarra in the window seat, and Barega across the aisle with Karmai on his other side. It wasn’t really a window. All you’d see would be the tunnel walls, because glass couldn’t be made strong enough, but to make the journey more interesting a display screen with a view changing to match the above-ground scene was mounted beside each wall seat. Jarra thought it was a brilliant idea.
As soon as he was buckled in he activated the small info screen on the back of the chair in front of him and found the travel data page. While Mirri was never interested in train statistics, Jarra was, and making a quick check he saw that today there were 2735 people travelling in eight linked sections with a current speed of 0 km/h. On the busy east coast link between Sydney and Melbourne he knew the maximum of twelve linked sections was pretty much the norm, but this seemed to be very busy for the Alice Springs to Adelaide run. The buckling up finished and when the train started Mirri made his laughs of enjoyment while the several minutes of acceleration lasted. He still called it very, very fun, and, indeed, this prolonged acceleration was a feature which helped attract visitors to Australia from all over the world.
‘Why is Mirri always so happy, Uncle Jarra?’
‘We don’t really know, Akama. It’s a special part of him that’s just there, like you always asking questions, or Barega making his pictures.’
Mirri heard this of course.
‘JJ makes me happy and twins make me happy and Karmai is my big brother.’
‘Yirgella has redesigned it slightly so it can carry two boys and their packs as well as my satchel. You’ll see when we start walking.’
‘Will we see a koala? I’ve never seen a wild one and our dad said we have to watch carefully because they live at Gariwerd.’
‘We hope so. Mirri and I have only seen them at the Nature Park so we’ll be watching hard too.’
Jarra looked at Karmai.
‘I’ve seen lots of koalas, Akama. My ranger training took to me to places all over Australia so I could learn about all sorts of animals. There aren’t very many at Gariwerd, though, so we’ll need Mirri’s eyes to see them.’
Mirri and the boys nodded their agreement at this clever idea.
‘Why is your new Power Supply so important, Uncle Jarra.? Our dad says it’s the best invention since the computer.’
‘Everyone’s inventions are important, Akama, because a new one can’t happen without all the old ones making it possible, but I suppose our Power Supply is good because it will help make Communities better.’
‘My dad says we’ll only need one for the whole of Carnarvon and Birringurra. Will that be enough to run our NanoFactories at the same time?’
‘Easily. We’ll just build one the right size.’
‘Will it be soon?’
‘Yirgella says the big factory for making them will be finished when we get back from our holiday, but you’ll have to ask Mirri’s dad for the exact date because he’s in charge of all that.’
‘I think all the AIs will get them first. Will there be plenty of water at Gariwerd? We need it for our dried food.’
Akama’s barrage of questions continued with varying degrees of intensity through all three legs of the journey till Mirri’s excitement at seeing the ranges of Gariwerd and then Mount Zero, their landing destination, from the windows of their chartered transport aircraft, focused everyone’s silent attention. They weren’t very high mountains but Jarra was intrigued because his checking had told him they were so ancient that all the height had been eroded away. After watching the aircraft depart Mirri shouldered his pack and wanted to know where to go.
Karmai thought that was funny.
‘Jarra isn’t even on his personal carrier yet, Mirri, and the boys are drowning lizards behind that rock. Do you want to leave without them?’
‘Are there lizards?’
By the time Mirri worked out what Karmai was talking about everyone was ready. Because this area was sometimes used by rock climbers there was an obvious pathway and Mirri confidently led the way for the 20 minutes it took to reach the approach to Hollow Mountain where they were setting up camp. Jarra climbed off his personal carrier and stared at the imposing rock faces towering above. No way would he be able to get up there. Karmai and Mirri would have to lift and carry him most of the way. Never mind. Close by there were large boulders and 10-metre rock formations jutting from the ground and he’d be able to use the personal carrier to explore them.
‘Karmai, I think I’ll have a rest and then look at all these boulders while you see the caves.’
Mirri gave his checkup look and laughed.
‘No tricking, JJ. We saw you resting on the aeroplane. We will help you.’
Half an hour later Jarra was sitting on some soft red sand, with a cavern wall sloping back over his head, and taking in the panorama of odd-shaped rock formations below and scrubby trees stretching into the distance.
The rest he didn’t need before was now imperative, but the effort to get here had been completely worth it. Not his own effort. Apart from a few sections where the track temporarily levelled and he could walk for himself, all the carrying and lifting had been done by Karmai and Mirri, Karmai good-heartedly groaning and insisting Jarra weighed as much as the mountains and Mirri happily following Karmai’s instructions as to the best way to lift Jarra past various obstructions or carry him up steep sections. The twins had been the scouts, returning with advice about what was ahead and watching carefully at all the tricky bits.
The others were heading off to explore, and right now Karmai was demonstrating to the boys how to edge their way up a 3-metre cleft with their backs against one rock wall and their feet on the opposing face. Mirri didn’t have to learn. He’d always been adept at any climbing or clambering activities. The sounds muted and Jarra composed himself and closed his eyes. There was an hour before they needed to return. Plenty of time for a good recovery sleep.
***
With a full moon just rising through a gap between two of the nearby rock formations, the astounding sight of the Aurora Australis shimmering in the sky and the happy chatter of Mirri and the twins round their little campfire, Jarra was almost overwhelmed with pleasure and wonder. Karmai was quiet, but Jarra understood that, like himself, he was appreciating the moment. The brilliance of the colours was beyond any of the examples Jarra had seen at home when he’d checked the InterWeb for information, and Yirgella’s warning that the solar flare causing it all was one of the strongest for decades and very likely to interrupt their InterWeb communication, had just evidenced itself.
‘Does it burn the sky, JJ?’
‘No, it doesn’t, Mirri, but it looks like it. Your ancestors used to think it was a bad fire happening in the spirit world.’
‘The red lights are angry.’
‘They’re so angry we can’t talk to Yirgy till they go away.’
‘Are they stronger than Yirgy?’
This meant explaining the signals between satellites, the local communication towers and their InfoPads.
‘Yirgy talks to us through stations in the sky and the lights don’t let them work properly, but they don’t hurt Yirgy, if that’s what you mean.’
A new curtain of red flared and shimmered above and, after their exclamations of wonder, everyone watched silently. Karmai added a piece of wood to the fire and attention momentarily shifted to the swirl of sparks. Barega rescued his fire stick and waved the glowing end to make a pattern of after-image, and when Akama followed suit Jarra mused how different forms of light were making this night special.
‘Can we stay here an extra day to explore Hollow Mountain properly? We could make our holiday a bit longer.’
‘Yes, yes! Can we do that, Uncle Jarra?’
‘We could, but then we’d have to miss out on the Elephant’s Hide and Wartook Waters, or rush past everything else too quickly to explore properly. If we do take an extra day here then we’ll have less time in Tasmania, and Mirri wants to see the quolls and the Tasmanian Devils.’
Mirri’s keen agreement with the boys changed at the idea of not being able to explore properly or see new animals, but then Karmai’s comments about the Flat Rock and the Amphitheatre and the Taipan Walls quickly restored everyone’s eagerness for the next day’s plans. Barega pointed out the Southern Cross and when Mirri said he liked the stars Akama took over and showed everyone a succession of constellations. Jarra was impressed.
‘How do you know them all?’
‘There’s a telescope at Birringurra and I look at them with my dad. He thinks there are planets where different creatures live, and I do too. I would love to go and explore the stars.’
‘Can we explore the stars, JJ?’
‘No, Mirri. They’re too far away and our spaceships would take hundreds of years to get there.’
‘Could your Power Supply make the ships go faster, Uncle Jarra? If it’s strong enough to run a whole city it might be able to.’
‘Not really. The energy would have to be converted to thrust and the size of the ship needed would …’
Jarra broke off, startled, as he put his mind properly to Akama’s query. Thrust was a primary feature of the positronic power process and one of the greatest headaches had been negating its effect. What Akama was asking for meant emphasising the effect, not negating it, and that was definitely possible … Directing the energy with magnetic fields rather
than containing it …Yes, there had even been theoretical designs to do just that for decades.
‘Uncle Jarra?’
‘JJ is thinking.’
The comments worked their way through Jarra’s deep concentration and he impulsively grabbed Akama’s arm.
‘What a question! You’ve just opened my eyes and I can’t believe I didn’t think of using our Power Supply ideas that way. You’re a wonder, Akama, and when I get this worked out it will be because of you. Yirgella is going to be amazed.’
‘You think you can use your Power Supplies as engines for spaceships?’
That was Karmai.
‘Not the Power Supplies as such—their design is wrong for that—but if we direct the thrust instead of containing it, it should work.’
Jarra lifted Akama’s arm towards the shimmering lights above in a kind of victory gesture.
‘An engine for a spaceship will be my new project, and if I can make it work the five explorers will take a special trip.’
Jarra pointed Akama’s arm at the rising moon to indicate his meaning then let it go. He watched with thoughts racing then laughed at the expressions revealed by the light of the campfire. Karmai and the twins were staring at him, not the Moon, and Mirri, sensing something unusual, was looking from one to the other.
‘What happened, JJ?’
‘I surprised everyone, Mirri. I said we can go and explore the Moon.’
Mirri looked up at the object in question then wanted to know if there were any animals there. Barega quickly told him there was no air then joined Akama in bombarding Jarra with more questions.
‘It would be a different kind of spaceship, Akama. Space rockets have huge acceleration for their takeoff then coast to get to where they’re going and then have a huge deceleration to make them stop.’