The Days of Peleg (10 page)

Thaxad was now an Elder, himself, and could recite all the formulae, engineering laws, and secret recipes which only Elder Castors knew—and would never divulge to anyone outside of the Order. He had made many contributions himself, most notably his chemical procedure using copper sulfate from chalcanthite which gave the tiles on the great
Citadel Of Knowledge
their powerful sky-blue sheen with their reflective qualities. He had achieved great prominence for this and had been appointed Master Chemist for the entire Great Discovery preparations before requesting assignment on the
Urbat
.

His lab suddenly exploded in a wash of blinding white light as the main door was flung wide open, allowing the radiant mid-day sunlight to come streaming in—intensified by the reflections from the surrounding ocean.

“I see you’ve been abusing our
kash
cache, again!”

Thaxad was blinded by the sudden light and could only see the silhouette of a man. The intruder was obviously amused by his own pun, though, for he gave a self-aggrandizing laugh and said, “Wait until I tell Captain Phaxâd!”

Thaxad grabbed the trespasser by the elbow and wrenched him into the room, closing the door behind him.

“
Edin Na Zu!
You shall be banished to the desert by the
Order of Buzur
after your tongue is removed and your eyes cast into everlasting darkness for your intrusion into the
Ikkibu
sanctum of an
Ul-Elder Castor
.” His blazing eyes could be felt as they bored through the darkness of the room. His deep voice lowered. “There will be no
Sa Belet Ersetim Ki’Am Parsusa
for you!”

These final words carried the weight of utter despair, and he waited for his intruder to respond.

The wait was short.

“First you’ll have to find a desert. And I think I can live—or die—without Madam Underworld’s last rites.”

There was a deathly pause, and Thaxad finally spoke.

“Serug. You
know
where you can go!” Thaxad incanted.

Serug broke into howls of laughter which finally subsided into gasps for air. As he caught his breath, Thaxad continued, “You do realize that, back home, I would have to kill you. I only put up with you because you are the baby of this expedition and need my constant nurturing.” His brusque voice was anything but nurturing.

“When we get back to civilization, you can register a complaint,” Serug sighed. “Besides—you keep me around because I’m an intelligent student.”

“Intelligent?” Thaxad raised an eyebrow. “Master Serug, I can tolerate disrespect, but
never
sarcasm.”

Their eyes had adjusted to the re-darkened room, and the heat from the chamber cast a glow throughout the room.

“Observe this.” Thaxad steered him towards the table. “When I move my magnet around, it affects the tracks.” They waited a few moments until another streak marked the fog. It bent towards the magnet, and then dissipated.

“As you can see, this indicates that these travelers exist on a physical level, not a spiritual one.”

“Or perhaps magnets have a spiritual influence over other dimensions?” Serug suggested.

Thaxad gave him a quizzical look that bordered on respect. He asked, “So what have you accomplished lately?”

“I just finished my studies on hyperelliptical orientation. I also just completed some of my very own surveying. In fact, I mapped the last two islands!”

“Excellent! How is our friend, Peleg?”

“Well, his face isn’t quite as green as it was at first.” Serug grinned, and even Mentor Thaxad showed the slight beginnings of a smile. “At least he’s able to keep his eyes open long enough to take measurements.”

“Peleg’s a fine cartographer—and a good man,” said Thaxad. “He must have seen
something
worthwhile in you.” He lowered his heavy eyebrows. “It’s beyond me,” he added with disgust that may or may not have been feigned.

He walked over to the wall and opened some of the shutters. The room filled with sunlight, and shelves with scrolls and measuring instruments could be seen.

“If you are through practicing your infantile impudence, perhaps you would be willing to commence acquiring some real knowledge.”

Stretched out below him was the glistening blue ocean of an untouched world. The deep topaz reflected the lighter blue of the sky, and the surface shimmered and refracted the sunlight in a spidery geometry. There was no hint of any land, not even along the horizon, and Peleg felt for a moment like this was his own personal, brand-new planet which he had just inherited.

The view directly over his head was obscured by the oblong shape of the hot-air balloon to which his gondola was attached. Flames from a small
girabba
-oil lamp far above his head heated the interior. Beside him were a small desk/shelf, some measuring instruments, and a variety of writing styluses. Spread out on the shelf was his current map, which needed no additions at this time. Right now he was tracking the sun, and in a few hours would record the precise point at which the sun disappeared behind the horizon. The
Anur
, or Celestial Horizon, was a constantly changing entity, and he would have to spend the evening making computations to reconcile the two, and then determine both latitude and longitude.

The view directly below him was…. He winced and tried not to think about it. He was attached to the
Urbat
by a hemp cable which kept him within 100 meters of the ship. The drag of the ship caused his craft to surge ahead, creating a slight breeze which whisked past him. Sometimes the wind at sea level, or shipwind, was a slightly different velocity than up in his gondola, and this wind-speed ratio could not be too great and had to be carefully monitored. But when the shipwind
direction
was different from his skywind, there could be some very interesting and dizzying results.

He had christened his observation craft the
Zini
or Air Spirit. It had taken a long time, but Peleg finally had enough control over his fear of heights so that he could honestly enjoy the amazing view before him.

In all his years instructing others in cartography, he had focused exclusively on the mathematical and theoretical aspects of his craft. He had avoided, at all costs, the practical hands-on practices of sailing vessels and their navigators—and it had cost him dearly as he assumed his duties aboard the
Urbat
. Fortunately, he no longer had to concern himself with avoiding his shipmates as his ‘lunch’ returned and found its way over the side. Also, the duration of his panic attacks could now be measured in seconds, not minutes.

The first three months of their expedition they had followed the coastline eastward with two sister ships: the
Parsu
and the
Kibrat Erbettim
. Much of the Southern Coastline of the Eastern Continent was already known, and they had traveled together, learning how to maintain supplies, make repairs while traveling, and do as much cross-training as possible. They had met with representatives of the Makkan and Meluha settlements and bartered for grain, supplies, and other extracurricular activities for which the Indus Valley people were known. These new colonies had formed at the mouth of the Ghaggar-Hakra River which began in the mountains thousands of leagues inland. At the source of this river, a giant granary and palace were currently under construction in Harappa as plans for large agricultural commerce were underway.

It was assumed that settlements would become more and more scarce as they explored regions where no man had gone before, and soon there would be no more ports where food and supplies could be purchased. At any given moment, there was supposed to be enough food and provisions to last for six months. Captain Phaxâd insisted on trying to increase this, so hunting parties often brought home extra meat, which was dried and stored whenever possible. However, soon animals would become scarce, so grains and roots would have to be harvested, and, if time permitted, crops grown.

In their sixth month, they left the
Kibrat Erbettim
which continued to follow the coastline as it traveled northward. The
Kibrat’s
mission was to continue in this manner until they reached the latitude of
Alluttu
, the sign of the Crab, which marked the summer solstice for the northern hemisphere. Then they would travel due east and continue their exploration until they found other landmasses to survey. If there were none, they would ultimately find themselves back at the opening of the Great Sea. The unspoken fear was that they might never arrive since, without landfall, there could be no hunting or replenishing of stores, and the crew would simply starve to death within six to eight months.

The remaining two ships, the
Urbat
and the
Parsu
, continued towards the Southeastern Landmass, charting the coast and islands along the way. Upon arrival, the
Koori
ranchers provided them with supplies in exchange for tapestries and bath items they had procured from Makkan.

These original settlers had brought domesticated wolves with them and through the years had bred them for superior herding and companionship. They employed, what they called, “Firestick Ranching” in which they burnt down large areas of forest so that fresh grazing grasses would grow for the feeding of
Arinya
and other range animals.

They had also imported ground moles to help aerate the tough clay-like soil, and had an obsessive fascination with any form of marsupial, which they gathered from anywhere they could. To them, the idea of raising one’s young within a living, maternal pouch symbolized a special closeness with nature and nurturing.

Serug had discovered a colony of
tum
-birds on a nearby small islet and had convinced Captain Phaxâd to allow him to keep a few families in cages on the lower deck. He had promised to take care of them, and in return they would provide meat and eggs. They would eat very little—mostly bugs and insects, which
always
found their way onto ocean vessels, and the little bit of grain they ate would be nothing compared to the renewable supply of fresh bird meat.

These strange birds had short wings and flew with great difficulty, but Serug had observed them swimming underwater with amazing dexterity. Also, these birds survived on seawater and would not diminish their fresh water reserves. In fact, if they drank nothing
but
fresh water, they became ill.

Captain Phaxâd had felt it was important that Serug have some kind of hobby. As the youngest member of the crew, opportunities in the coming years for achieving
Chief
status in any of his skill sets were few, since there were no younger men for him to tutor.

After taking on supplies, the
Parsu
had separated from them and continued southward. Her mission was to explore and chart the coastline surrounding the entire Southeastern Landmass and to thoroughly map any islands surrounding it. The other major component of her mission was to see just how far to the south it extended. Perhaps some future transpolar routes might be found.

The
Urbat
was to continue mapping the northern edge, but upon reaching the latitude of S
uhurmashû
, the Tropic of the ‘Goat-Fish’, they were to head directly east and continue along that parallel in the same manner as the
Kibrat Erbettim
. The northern coastline had many inlets and other difficulties. One bay was so huge, they thought they had found the edge of the continent, but eventually found their way to the east side where their journey along
this
hemisphere’s summer solstice commenced.

Now Peleg sat in
Zini
and watched as the sun sank behind them. He studied his quadrant and marked the declination in the log beside him. He watched the powerful splash of colors as the huge orange orb refracted through the top few degrees of the ocean’s surface. Then he released the winch that would tow him back to the ship’s foredeck and began cranking.

Mentor Inanna unrolled the scroll and reread the letter from her father. Although it was written in her language, he addressed her as “Ishtar”, her given name—and still her name in his tongue. She had not heard from him since her marriage over one hundred years ago, and suddenly he wanted her help.

He had once been the undisputed King of Heaven and Earth before the Great Awakening and with the collapse of his great City-State he had never been heard from again.

Until now.

The letter informed his daughter that he had deposed King Lugalzagesi and was now the new Ruler of Uruk. Shaved and disguised as a cupbearer, he had slain the King and now controlled his armies. He was now raising men and money and had plans to re-unify the cities of the plains. He wanted military and reconnaissance information.

She sighed. All she needed was another man to undermine her plans. She would have to arrange things just right if he was intent on conquering
her
city.