NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1)

by Dan Haronian

  “So what a you saeing? That it's no a coincieence? A you saying that it was all panned? Sosi's death too?”

  A shiver went through Daio's body. “Sosi's death,” he mumbled. His thoughts went back to their landing on Naan. The events streamed by like a video in fast forward, skipping over the irrelevant parts, until he reached the sight of Sosi's face as his little brother disappeared behind the smoke.

  On a small hill overlooking a valley stood a small structure. Its walls were made of stacked logs placed one on top of the other between long wooden stakes that were driven into the ground. The wall facing the valley was shorter and left a small entrance that overlooked at the valley. Canes, arranged densely side by side, covered the structure and on top of them was a thick layer of dried and long leaves. The structure was firm but looked shaky. Its walls weren’t uniform and it tilted on its side as if it is about to fall.

  A bed, made of dried leaves covered with sheepskin was close to one of the walls. A table, made of branches lashed together with leather straps stood on three wooden legs in the center of the structure. A wide log completed the meager furniture. It lay beside the table and served as a chair.

  On the other side of the structure a brush fence created three pens, one next to the other. In one of the pens were two sheep munching on leaves, in the second several plants grew in densely in rectangular beds, and in the third, stood a young stallion. This one opened on one side to a large pasture of lush green grass in the open space behind the structure.

  On the near side of the valley, tall, dense canes hid a large pool. The canes were so tall that in spite of the large size of the pool, the water was mostly hidden from view. The pool had small creeks that flowed along the valley in a winding route and with a little concentration one could hear their gurgling from the hilltop.

  I walked slowly up the hill along the trail leading another young stallion carrying two leather containers filled with water. I was tired even though I’d walked this trail countless times. The stallion’s stubborn resistance to go down in the first place had exhausted me. I didn't understand why, he’d suddenly refused. They usually liked to go down to the water. I stopped and gazed over the pool. Maybe a predator was lurking there and the stallion could sense it. There was something else there. I felt something too, but I don't have the keen senses of the horse. I continued walking up the trail that my steps, and those of the horses and the sheep, had worn into the hill. I scratched at the black beard covering my sweaty face when I reached the hilltop. I unloaded the water containers in front of the house and gazed back towards the valley.

  A while ago I’d encountered a herd of horses grazing in one of the valleys nearby. I’d followed them for few days. Using an improvised corral I built from long canes, I’d caught a young stallion. It took me a while to calm him down but a few days later while I walked him up the mountain, I discovered to my surprise that a mare and a full-grown stallion were following me. Gradually they came closer until they trailed along just behind me. The mare was easygoing and got used to me fast. Mostly I used her to carry my few possessions and the two stallions followed behind.

  I took the water containers inside and laid them on the table, then went out again.

  “Go. Go to your mother,“ I yelled at the stallion and slapped his rump. He jumped and disappeared behind the house.

  When I was a child, Daio told me that our mother use to say I was destined for greatness. I didn't remember this story myself. He always told me this story when I did something wrong, hoping it would change my behavior. He told it so many times that eventually, when he was angry at me, he shortened it to, “You know what mommy used to say about you!"

  There was another story Daio told me about my mother. Before I was born she dreamed about a handsome man called Sosi who led a herd of sheep and horses along green plains. The dream was odd mainly because my mother never saw a sheep or a horse in her life. Nor had she ever seen a shepherd leading his animals across green plains. In any event this is how I came to be called Sosi.

  For many years I lived thinking these stories were a reflection of her mental health, and possibly the reason our father left. The fact that I was now, years later, responsible for a small horse herd made me think of my mother and of her dream. What if what is happening to me now was her dream coming true? If so, then maybe there was something to her other dream as well. Maybe I was destined for greatness. I looked around. Maybe this was what she saw.

  I loved the horses, both for their character and also because they made me think good thoughts about my mother. More than that, they made me believe that eventually, somehow, things would turn out okay.

  I looked down at the valley and thought about the possibility of a predator lurking there. Animals have a good sense of danger, and the stallion’s behavior was unusual, but I wasn't sure it was a predator. Something else was there. My nostrils flared to take in the smell of the surroundings and the bad feeling that had been growing since the morning came back. I walked into the house and sat on the chair. One of the water containers was dripping, so I straightened it.

  Since I escaped the burning town, I could not stop wondering what had happened to Daio. He’d been only a few feet away from me in the forest inferno. The fire had left scars on my body and in my soul, but I was lucky. I had no doubt Daio’s fate was the same as the man who was sent to guard me with his life. I reached out to the badge that now was stitched to the lapel of my leather shirt. I gazed at the five letters and wondered what they meant.

  Sometimes I thought about Dug as well. About the red and green beams that hit the town and raised waves of fire. I thought about the shockwaves that made the ground tremble beneath me, even far away. I was a wreck when I’d stood on the mountaintop that day and looked down on the town, and yet my conscience bothered me every time I thought about that day. The thought that our whole damned journey here and everything that followed were my fault gnawed at my mind every day. And every time I concluded that I should have returned to the town to die there with them.

  But I hadn’t. I’d left. I hadn’t thought I would survive. I’d left covered with burns, with a paralyzed arm and bruises all over my body. All I’d had was my sooty pants and the torn and scorched shirt I eventually I used to make a sling for my right arm. I don't know how I survived. Every day I focused on how to get through it alive. I didn't think beyond that, and so passed the days. I wandered from one water pool to the next and gathered fruit I found along the way. Gradually I recovered. When I got stronger I made sharp arrows from cane that I used to hunt small animals. I’d never eaten animals before, but my survival instincts were strong and they guided me.

  My senses sharpened too. The hidden power that sharpened my scrambling capabilities enhanced my survival skills as well. And now, sitting on my wobbling log, tilting the water container to keep it from dripping, I understood that this power, deep, deep inside my head, was telling me that something was wrong.

  My breathing became difficult and I felt that something was happening outside. I stood up and walked outside. I looked over the valley beneath me. The wind stopped blowing and silence settled over everything. I closed my eyes and let my nose and ears grasp the surroundings. I stood there for a few seconds until I sensed an odd noise. I opened my eyes and started to walk down the trail.

  “Something is going on,” I mumbled myself.

  I started to run. From time to time I slowed my steps so as not to lose control. When I arrived at the floor of the valley I let out all the stops and raced forward. I stopped abruptly amid the canes surrounding the pool. There was no noise of running water. I looked down at my feet and was terrified to see they were dry. I walked forward and when I reached the edge of the thicket, I pushed aside the curtain of reeds. The pool was now only a puddle.

  I stood there for few seconds stunned by the sight. There were a few deep holes in the muddy expanse. I walked towards them. The mud was thick on the exposed bottom and I bogged down more the farther I advanced into the
muck. A suffocating smell came from the hole once I arrived at its edge. I looked inside but couldn't see its bottom. Odd noises came from the blackness inside the hole and a cloud started to rise from it. Gas was rising from the other holes on the surface of the pool as well. The suffocating smell grew. I turned and started to walk back toward the reeds. The odd noise sounded familiar now. It was the noise of something filing up. I looked back, still struggling to walk towards the edge of the pool, and saw water rise out of the holes and squirt into the sky with a deafening noise. The scalding water soon caught up with me and sloshed around my feet. The pool started to fill. Suffocating steam rose from the surface of the water.

  I frantically tried to escape but my leg sunk into the mud and the air became so suffocating that I started to cough. Exhausted, I reached the edge of the pool and started to climb. I tried to stand up but all my strength had left me. I rested for a few seconds and then began to crawl away. When I couldn't crawl anymore I rested my head on the ground. There, between the pebbles, was clean air that I breathed eagerly and gave myself up to exhaustion.

  When I awoke the sight of the small pebbles, close to my eyes, reminded me where I was. There was still tightness in my throat, but I was breathing. The sound of running water came to my ears. I lifted my head and coughed several times. I pulled myself to my knees, and for a few seconds I rested, gulping deep breaths. I stood up and walked back to the edge of the pool. Bad smelling water filled it, and steam was rising from its surface. I put my feet into the water. I don't know why. It was silly, in light of what had happened. The water was warm. I stood there for a few seconds until the heat began to bother me.

  The suffocating feeling lingered as I left the pool behind and started to walk up the slope to the house. The hill was harder than ever to climb. My feet felt heavy, as if I was still inside the pool fighting through the deep mud. Halfway up the hill I stopped and sat on the ground. A white cloud was covering the whole valley now like a morning mist. The sight was as deceptive as poisonous mushrooms. My weakness grew. When I felt as if I was going to faint again, I pushed myself to my feet and kept going up the hill.

  The cloud dispersed later that day. The following night I woke up sweating. I lay in my bed, trying to remember how I got there. My labored breathing reminded me of the horrible events of the previous day and made me think the horrible cloud had erupted again. With great difficulty I stood up and walked outside. The sky was clear and I could see the whole valley stretched out below. I couldn't hear the water but the ringing noise in my head was probably masking it. Unsteadily I walked back inside, dropped onto the bed, and fell asleep.

  I woke up again covered in sweat. My head was pounding with pain and my breath was heaving. I crawled out of the bed, picked up one of the water containers, and with shaking hands released the leather strap to pour the water over my head. A little water ran into my mouth and I drank it eagerly. I tried to stand up and failed. I had to use the chair to finally get to my feet. Dizziness overcame me. I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

  The ringing emanating from the center of my head was the first thing I noticed when I woke up again. In spite of this noise I felt better. I rolled on the floor and felt a sense of discouragement. Pain and weakness wracked every part of my body. My breathing was still difficult, but I felt it was better. I stood up carefully, trying not to lose my balance again, and went to the table. A single water container remained. I carefully took hold of it with both of my hands and walked to my bed. I sat down, released the leather strap and took several short sips. I closed it again with the strap, laid the container next the bed, and lay down.

  Two days passed. At the end of the second day I stood up and walked outside to watch the setting of Mampas. I heard the neighing of the horses, the bleating of sheep, and the sweet sound of the water running down the creek again. My strength was returning and with it came a huge hunger. A few roots hung in a basket on the wall of the house. I pulled one out and started to eat it raw. I went to the garden beds around the house and tore off a few leaves from the greens. I collected some roots as well, then sat on the ground and started to eat. The young stallion wandered over on the other side of the fence. He pushed his head between the fence rails and snorted. I threw a few leaves towards him and thought about my mother and her dream and wondered what greatness is awaiting me.

  As the Doctor promised the language was not difficult to learn. Not long after they moved into their new house the Plaser brothers were able to make themselves understood using basic Naanite. They weren’t ready to write fine literature, thought Daio, nor make sophisticated jokes, but he was no writer so it made no difference.

  Since they’d arrived at the house, Dug had begun to recover. The two brothers had learned, along with the language, that the residents of Naan had no ambition.

  “Their way of life leaves them too much spare time,” Dug said one evening, as they sat in the living room. “Maybe that’s why there are so many of them," he added.

  “I don't think we should draw conclusions about their character,” said Daio.

  “I am not against values preaching modesty, not at all, but what is going on here is no less than complacency bordering on crime.”

  “Now let's hear you say that in Naanite,” said Daio.

  “No chance,” said Dug with a grin.

  “I agree, this place is odd, but I am not sure about the underlying reason for that,” said Daio.

  “I mean, take the hospital for example,” said Dug. “It was clear from the first visit how poor their infrastructure is.”

  “And I am sure you saw how I tried to get the Doctors interested in new equipment and more advanced methods and procedures,” said Daio.

  “Sure I remember.”

  “They were very polite. They gave the impression they were interested in the things I was telling them, but eventually they did nothing,” said Daio.

  “And that is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Dug. “There are countless examples of deficient technology here. It’s like they simply don't know they exist.”

  Over time, as his language skills improved, Daio became the advocate for progress on Naan. Normally his pleas fell on deaf ears and only occasionally did his words lead to change. One of the rooms in the second floor was converted into an office and the Doctor made sure they had a proper network connection. Daio spent many hours researching solutions to the host of problems he saw in town. Often he felt he was bridging a gap of generations. The issue wasn't limited to a lack of new and smart equipment but also a need for reeducation.

  He never forgot Sosi. When he remembered their first days on Naan, it broke his heart. Often those memories would paralyze him completely and he would push himself back into work only to force those thoughts from his head.

  Dug also caught the bug of progress and his contributions increased as he healed and his command of the language improved.

  “Time traveling,” he said one night when the two sat eating their dinner.

  “Back to the present,” he said another night when the two sat in the living room and Daio shook off the day’s frustrations.

  Dug's words made Daio laugh and helped vent some of his frustration. Dug on the other hand was never frustrated, nor did he take things to heart. He even never thought of Sosi.

  Less than a year after they arrived on Naan, Daio was invited to join Naan's House of Commons. The Doctor explained that there was nothing special about it. He even said that the House of Commons was made of several shriveled old men that only wanted him close to them so they could keep an eye on him. But he also said that it was a good idea for Daio to bring his new ideas to the local leaders. He said that if they felt they were part of the change it would be easier for them to give the changes their support.

  The Doctor was very pleased with Daio and Dug's progress. He didn't think anymore about Sosi or his test that went out of control. Daio and Dug's rate of integration was so pleasing that he thought that they would be mentally ready when
they the time came to know the rest of Naan’s history.

  The brothers already knew that during Naan's Founding Fathers’ time, there’d been a major market for rare minerals that no one else could produce at a reasonable price. The Founding Fathers were miners. They landed on Naan looking for these rare minerals, and worked hard, day and night, searching for a new source.

  The mining trade was always a ruthless game. The price, and the price alone, determined the winners. It was a constant battle between the chemical engineers who manufactured equivalent materials and the heartless mining companies with their fleets of shuttles.

  While the engineers tried to reduce the cost by using improved and more efficient methods, the mineral merchants lowered their cost by pushing the poor miners to produce more with fewer resources and less pay. This was also the reason for their small stature. One of the tests candidates went through before they were recruited was their physical compatibility to the job. They chose their workforce from the miserable underclasses of large populated planets and they looked for short and stout people so that they could pack as many as possible into the shuttles and squeeze them into every crack or crevice on the planet to find the minerals they lusted.

  Most of the Founding Fathers settled on Naan for economical reasons. Sometimes they were retired miners, tired of their manual labor, who settled near the mines. Sometimes they were entrepreneurs who recruited investors and acquired a shuttle but failed to run it properly or lost their workers to diseases or to competitors who hired them away. Some of these entrepreneurs joined other groups, or left aboard other luckier shuttles, but most of these gamblers were left homeless and deep in debt. Many of these decided that this remote planet was the best place to hide from their creditors.