by S. G. Basu
Dill continued to stare thoughtfully at Maia’s bowl for the longest time. “Where did you hear of a Timiti whale?” he asked finally, tearing his eyes from the creature that gamboled within Maia’s Saska. “Have you read about it?”
Maia shook her head. Not only had she never seen what was being called a Timiti whale, she had never even heard of it. She felt embarrassed, especially with the stares and the whispers.
“All right, everyone, let’s keep working.” The trainer turned away to attend to the rest of the gathering and Maia sighed in relief.
“That is cool,” Ren whispered as he peeked at the replica of the whale. His own Saska was now a melee of milk squids, evidently inspired by the bunch they had encountered on their journey to Zagran. “How did you conjure it?”
“She would tell you if she knew, Ren,” Nafi chided. She had managed to create some snub-nosed dolphins that cavorted in the water.
Kusha only had a few new fish in his Saska, but Dani’s was teeming with a variety of creatures —hers was a beautiful world, sparkling with color and meticulous detail. As Maia looked at Dani’s Saska, she realized something; Dani had not even glanced at Maia’s Timiti. It was odd that while everyone else, including the trainer, had stared in surprise, Dani had chosen to ignore the incident.
21: The Day of All Disputes
The next couple of weeks passed in a daze. The first week’s evaluations were a living nightmare. It was either a miracle or immense kindness on Palak’s part that no one received a failing grade. But there was no dearth of stern warnings; even Aerika graced the congregation with her unsmiling presence. The second week, however, went a little better as the teams grasped the complex charts and the maps of the seas.
The only relief was the sessions in Saskawatching. Everyone seemed to have embraced the ocean world quite well, as was obvious from the flourishing little realms they had all managed to create. Maia was glad that no other strange creatures popped up in her bowl. The Timiti, however, did appear to grow friskier by the day.
Maia was thankful that time passed peacefully, at least until the fifth day of the fourth week. Then it went awry right after breakfast. The meal was sumptuous, and the gang had found a few precious moments to spare before Palak’s session. With the intention of making good use of the extra time, they stood at the door of the RC, admiring the portrait of the mermaid that shimmered with unusual brilliance that morning.
“It looks like she’ll spring to life any moment,” Kusha said, admiration evident in his voice.
“Would be nice if she did. We could have a pretty mermaid friend,” Ren added with a chuckle.
Nafi turned toward Dani. “Do mermaids really exist? Have your people ever seen one?”
“No,” Dani said with a wave and a laugh. “Don’t get crazy ideas, Nafi. Mermaids are just fantasy.”
“Can you imagine swimming around with a real mermaid in the oceans?” Nafi had never looked so excited. She practically skipped all the way to the elevator. “I wish I could swim once in my life, with or without a mermaid friend.”
“Well, maybe they’ll let us out in the waters one day,” Dani said as they waited for the elevator to arrive.
Kusha flashed a huge grin. “Now that would be something to look forward to,” he said.
The sound of footsteps behind them made Maia turn around. It was Karhann—he trudged in, yawning. Nafi’s face grew rigid as soon as she saw him. Karhann, however, smiled warmly, and so did the rest of the team.
“Sleepy, huh?” Kusha asked the boy, who nodded groggily in response.
“These sessions are tough.”
“Yup. Make sure you get a good night’s rest.”
Maia squinted, suddenly curious. That was most unusual, the friendliness with which Kusha spoke to Karhann.
“But I thought you have lakes and rivers on Tansi, Nafi,” Ren resumed the halted discussion from earlier. “How could you have not swum before?”
“It’s all about the condition of the water,” Maia started to explain. “Most of the water on Tansi is toxic from the days before the Collapse.”
“Yes. Swimming in Tansi’s waters is dangerous business—you might get mutated or even die,” Kusha added. “That’s probably a risk not worth taking.”
“I still would give it a try,” Nafi sighed. “But I live in a desert; we hardly have enough water to drink, let alone think of frolicking in it.”
“Not much different from Xif, I guess.” Everyone turned to stare when Karhann chimed in. “All our water is tightly regulated—it’s easier to break into the Chancery than to steal a glass of water. You wouldn’t know about all that as guests though. Their needs are catered to with the greatest care.”
Nafi glared at Karhann, shook her head angrily and took a few deliberate steps toward him. “Who do you think wants to speak to you?” she shouted, her face blushing a vivid crimson. “Haven’t I told you to be quiet? Don’t you understand?”
Karhann fell back in surprise. It took a moment for the astonishment on his face to turn into anger.
“You’re the rudest girl I’ve ever met,” he said, glaring back at Nafi. “Can’t you get over the Seliban challenge? Why can’t you understand that it was nothing personal?”
“Oh, no, no, no . . . this is more than just the challenge and your disgraceful behavior out there.” Nafi shook a threatening finger. “This is totally personal. If you and your nasty girlfriend think that you could mock my sister’s name—that makes it very personal.”
Maia blinked in surprise. Sister? She had never heard about Nafi having a sister.
“No one mocked anything.” Karhann seemed to have been taken aback at Nafi’s accusation. “Loriine simply suggested a few names and I picked one I liked.”
A moment of silence fell like a sliver of rain on a raging inferno. But the small flash of quiet was gone before it could begin.
“You . . . have . . . no . . . right . . .” Nafi wheezed. She was trembling from head to foot like a leaf. “What you did was inexcusable, and I’ll never ever forgive you for that.”
The elevator came to a stop with a small thump. As soon as the door opened, Karhann stepped out. He looked more pained than angry when he turned around to look at Nafi once more.
“I do not need your forgiveness,” he said in a cold, steady voice that was surprisingly free of anger. “And you should know this—you do not own that name. I can and I will use it as I choose. Go on and hate me, see if I care.”
A pall of gloom fell on Nafi’s face as Karhann strode away toward Palak’s classroom. No one dared to speak as they shuffled along until Maia finally decided to brave the storm.
“You never told us about your sister,” she said softly, taking a step closer to Nafi.
“And I’m not going to start now,” Nafi growled before stomping forward.
Maia trudged onward with the rest of her teammates, hoping that by the end of the day all would be forgotten. Little did she know that this was just a preview of things to come.
22: The Message in a Bottle
A quiet class and a quieter dinner later, the team walked back to the dormitories. While Nafi had started to look a tad cheerful again, no one was willing to venture in her direction just yet. After spending months in each other’s company, they had all learned to give each other space when needed. And the current situation demanded all the distance they could possibly afford to put between each other. Things changed in a heartbeat when they saw their mentor, Joolsae, waiting for them at the atrium.
Joolsae smiled happily as Maia and her friends gathered around her. After the usual hellos and the expected pats on Nafi’s head, she held out a small bottle for Dani. It was a transparent blue-green bottle, sealed with a silver stopper. A scroll of paper lay inside it.
“Hans asked me to give this to you,” Joolsae informed. “He said the message is for you and your friends.”
After Joolsae left, the group settled down at their favorite nook next to the glass window.
&
nbsp; Nafi was back to her usual self. “A message in a bottle, huh?” Her eye shone as she kneeled next to Dani.
“Of all the ways people can send messages, you have to use something like this?” Ren asked incredulously. “I mean, what about security? Anyone could have read that.”
“Yes, what about that thing you use all the time? What’s the name . . . the Urso?” Nafi pointed at the small tablet that was always tucked securely in Dani’s pocket, beeping softly every other moment. It was a device for exchanging messages with friends, Dani had once explained.
Dani laughed. She reached below her collar and pulled out a delicate silver chain that encircled her neck. A blackish object that looked like a ring hung from the chain.
“This is security,” Dani declared, holding up the ring and showing it to the group. “This is a PR key, short for Personal Restrictive key. It works with the assistance of biometrics.”
She explained more as the team listened intently.
“Primitive as this bottle looks, it’s far from that. The stopper can only be opened with a key that is paired with the key that seals it. If anyone tried to break the bottle or the cap by force, the contents inside would be destroyed by a corrosive gas released through the inside of the container. So, this is far safer than any electronic transmission, free from interception of any kind.”
“Hmm,” Kusha tapped his chin thoughtfully. Strands of hair hung over his forehead, creating an attractive mess. “But what if someone steals that key from you?”
“Like I said, the PR key works with the assistance of biometrics, which means it wouldn’t work if I were not using it.”
“What if someone forces you to open it for them?” Maia asked.
“Again, the key would not work if it detects changes in my biometrics due to stress,” Dani said with a smile.
“Okay, I think we all get it. Let’s open the bottle now,” Nafi chirped restlessly. Dani chuckled as she placed the key on the silver stopper, waited a brief moment, and then pulled the cap out. She rolled out the note and read the message from Hans.
Please take care to keep this information as much of a secret as you can for reasons I have explained to you before. I wanted to meet you in person, but with all the unexpected work we have been getting lately, I could not find the time. But I think you should know this now.
Since receiving the ultimatum from the Xifarians, the Jjordic Council has been working to find the best way to handle the possible fallout. The first step is to find a way to placate the Xifarians by supporting them in their search. In that, we have been most unsuccessful, at least so far. We know they want to get their hands on the Resistance, but what they want to do with the rebels is beyond our comprehension. We also do not understand much about this lost artifact. The Xifarians have been unresponsive to all of our questions regarding the nature of this object. They have demanded that we provide them UTAP throughout our settlements, as well as the planet surface, which we have not consented to and do not plan to consent to in the future.
“Wait,” Ren interrupted. “Explain UTAP.”
“It stands for Unrestricted Territorial Access Pass,” Nafi explained. “It’s a protocol granting a foreign national visiting, exploring, recruiting and investigative access. Like what you get for a week during the annual drafting for the mines on Ti.”
“We do?”
“Of course,” Nafi replied. “Why do you think Tansians are so mad at your people? Your troops can walk into anyone’s home and take them away if they meet the recruiting criteria. But, drafting session is limited to only a week. The current demand, I’m guessing, is for either a long-term or perpetual UTAP.”
Ren stared for a while at Nafi, the disbelief in his eyes slowly turning into embarrassment, until he could look at her no more.
Kusha spoke, ending the crushing silence. “That’s one thing. What I don’t understand is why won’t they tell us what they are looking for?”
“Maybe because they don’t know what they’re looking for either,” Ren said thoughtfully. “As I said the other night, the heart of the Sedara is not just an object but almost a living entity. I doubt it’s even possible to take the heart away. And even if anyone has managed to do that, who knows what it could’ve morphed into. It could be a rock, a tree, a cat, a fish, or maybe even a human for all we know.”
“Are you serious?” Nafi asked, her eyes wide.
“Of course.”
“So, they’re searching blindly?” Nafi asked.
Ren shrugged. “Maybe they have some clues. I’ve no idea.”
Something stirred vaguely in Maia’s mind. In her message, Sophie had said something about scattering the pieces. Did the Xifarians know the heart was shattered?
Dani continued to read.
The second step is to come to an understanding with our compatriots from the surface. While we are aware that the Resistance is denying any responsibility in the loss of the artifact, we were hoping to make them talk to the Xifarians. However, it seems that not all House leaders are willing to even try to make the Resistance recognize this need. So, we are planning a series of meetings to convince the Solianese House leaders.
We also need some time to prepare ourselves in case the Xifarians do withdraw all support. Although it is doubtful whether things will come to that since a siege would hardly help the Xifarians’ cause, we have to be prepared. We have to find ways to preserve as much life as we can on this planet in case all negotiations fail. In a few months, we can manage to have more than we need for the underwater cities, but we have come to a crossroads when it comes to sharing the modest surplus. It will certainly not be possible to sustain everyone in the land cities of Tansi, so we have to plan and choose which areas we want to protect and preserve.
Dani stopped abruptly. Gloom had descended on the group as Dani read the last few sentences. A vision of the picture-perfect Appian flashed before Maia’s eyes. She wondered how long it would survive on its own with its rusty old wind turbines. It would definitely not be for very long; a few breakdowns would be the end of the simple folk of Appian. Anger, unrelenting and intense, throbbed in her veins.
“Go on, Dani,” Nafi urged softly. “Keep reading.”
Given the incidents before the Collapse that had almost led to Tansi’s extinction, our leadership was never too eager to cooperate with the Solianese Houses. The current situation with the Resistance, and the disinterest of most of the Houses to persuade them into talking with the Xifarians, is once again making us question the dependability of our allies. Their lack of concern for the well-being of the planet we share seems very much like what we have seen in the past. Our leaders are apprehensive and in my opinion, quite rightly so.
In the next few months, as the discussions progress, we hope to decide on a course of action. Solianese House leaders will be arriving shortly to meet with our premier and the Jjordic Council, but it is questionable that there will be a positive outcome for everyone on Tansi.
This is a difficult situation that none of us deserve to be in, and there is little we can do now to alter our collective history. But we can surely choose our own destinies. Now that you know what is happening around you, you should make your own choices early and fast.
Hope to see you soon.
Please destroy this letter after reading.
They sat in silence for a while before Kusha scrambled to his feet.
“Make our choices early? What does he mean by that?” he said sharply. “Does that mean we should choose to ignore the fate of our people and look out for ourselves now?”
Dani blinked. “Kusha . . .” she started. “I’m sure Hans didn’t mean anything like that—”
“Then explain to me what he meant,” Kusha demanded.
“I . . . I don’t know,” Dani replied. “I’m as shocked by this news as you are. I can’t think of anything at the moment.”
“You are simply shocked.” Kusha laughed sarcastically. “And I’m practically mourning the end of my world. Do you s
ee the difference here?”
“But what am I supposed to do?” Dani almost wailed.
“Stay safe,” Kusha shot back. “And have fun watching while we die.”
“Kusha!” Maia and Nafi exclaimed in unison. However distressed Kusha might have been, there was no reason for him to be unkind to Dani. There was hardly anything Dani alone, or even Hans for that matter, could do to change the situation. Kusha did not show any signs of regret at what he had said. He stared a moment at the group, then turned and left.
“See you guys tomorrow,” Ren said before he got to his feet and ran after Kusha.
Maia and Nafi sat in the atrium with Dani. After a long while, they plodded back to their dormitory to end what had been a very bad day.
23: Seigvard
The dispute between Dani and Kusha made the days gloomy, to say the least. For the next few weeks, neither spoke unless absolutely necessary and the air hung heavy around the group. The warring duo threw furtive glances each other’s way, but that was all. Maia made a few attempts to get them talking and failed miserably. And, after one futile try a week later that drew a chastising glare from Kusha, Ren also gave up.
There was no end in sight to their miserable existence. Dani had not heard from Hans, so all Maia could assume was that the talks between the Solianese and the Jjord were in progress. Nafi was bored and anxious enough to suggest that they ask Joolsae about the talks. But good sense, inspired by a stern look from Dani, had prevailed over her impulsive urges.
It was a much-welcomed change when they walked into Palak’s classroom to find the usually darkened display screens ablaze with pictures and diagrams.
“Now that we have gathered some basic knowledge of the oceans, it is time to start a more intensive research,” the trainer declared, immediately drawing a barrage of sighs and groans. Maia and Nafi exchanged a quick, fearful glance.
