The Power of Gnaris (10 page)

“A
circuit?”

“Yes, as I
told you Hikon is split into three zones: the Hot Zone, the side
facing the sun which is a perpetual desert, the Cold Zone which is
a permanent ice sheet, and the Home Band, the narrow strip of land
in between where we live. The Home Band, as the name suggests, is a
band of land that encircles the planet. We have constructed a
railway that circumnavigates the entire Home Band, tracks that
makes a complete circuit, with trains that run continuously in both
directions around the loop. Indeed it is called ‘The Loop’. This is
the most economical and enjoyable way to travel around the globe.
It also offers the ideal way for a visitor like you to see and
experience all the wonders of our home planet.”

“That sounds
like a wonderful idea,” said Forster, “but will I be safe? There
may be another attempt on my life.”

“I think you
will be in no danger away from the city; but, nevertheless, I will
ask Barrow to provide bodyguards.”

“How long does
a circuit of the planet take?”

“It takes just
two days. We will not have time to stop and visit any of the places
we see, but the wagon-lits accommodation on the train is first
class.”

“Splendid,”
said Forster. “When can we leave?”

“We must go
first thing in the morning if we are to arrive back in time for the
scheduled departure for Ziemia.”

“I’m looking
forward to it.”

The trip
around Hikon proved more fabulous than Forster could have imagined,
and more magnificent than Elena could ever have described. During
his tour of the Milky Way he had visited many planets; he had seen
deserts and ice caps before; he had observed high mountain ranges
and vast lakes; he had beheld many wonders, both natural and made
by the inhabitants of the planets; but nothing compared to the
stark beauty of Hikon.

During the
first day, the train wound its way up a mountain range that
straddled the Home Band. The first thing Forster noticed was the
haunting silence.

“What powers
the engines of this train so there is no noise at all?” he
asked.

“The fuel is
hydrogen, which is strictly controlled so that it cannot explode,
but is converted by a nuclear reaction to helium producing more
than enough energy to propel the train; and the train sits on a
magnetic cushion, so it hovers above the track. Hence there is no
friction, and no noise.”

“Amazing! This
technology exceeds our own.”

“Don’t get any
ideas, Jim, I mean Captain Forster. This technology is not for
sale, and certainly not for the taking.”

“I didn’t mean
. . .”

She laughed.
“I know. I was just teasing. The Karavec and the humans are allies.
I am sure the Great Savant would share this technology with you, if
and when he deems it appropriate.”

When the train
reached the highest point of the mountain pass, Forster was
awestruck by the beauty and contrast of the various shades of light
reflecting from the sunlight pouring down from the Hot Zone, and
the myriads of reflected rays of light from the ice crystals at the
edge of the Cold Zone. He pondered that it must have been
impossible for the native Karavec population to fully experience
the beauty since their light-sensitive eyes had to be protected
against the glare. But he gloried in his own ability to revel in
this feast.

“That is quite
the most magical sight I have ever experienced,” he said to Elena.
“It is a shame that you are unable to share the experience.”

“Of course we
can share and even exceed your experience,” said Elena “We do not
use our eyes as you do, but we experience the wonder with our
gnaris.”

Forster turned
red with embarrassment. “I should have realised,” he said.

The descent on
the far side of the mountain range brought a new set of wondrous
vistas. Several lakes huddled into the folds of the mountains, each
one a different hue.

“Why are these
lakes all different colours?” he asked

“The water in
the lakes is full of minerals,” she said, “and each one has a
different composition. These minerals, such as yellow sulphur and
bluestone, and other compounds of copper and aluminium, cause the
lakes to change their hue according to the light and time of
day.”

“Truly
beautiful,” he said.

Every two or
three hours, the train stopped at towns along the route to allow
Karavec to embark or disembark. At some of the stops, Forster took
the opportunity to buy some food, for there was no food for sale
and no restaurant car on the train. Whenever he got off the train,
he received stares from Karavec. The news had spread of the arrival
on Hikon of the strange alien, but they had never before witnessed
beings with a pale pink complexion and facial hair.

When they
reached the valley, the next object that caught Forster’s eye was
not a natural phenomenon, but a huge building that appeared to be
enveloped in gold.”

“Yes,” she
said, as if reading his mind, “that is gold . . . solid gold.”

Forster
whistled. “It must be worth a fortune.”

“Indeed it is
very valuable, but gold is not such a scarce commodity here on
Hikon as it is on other planets. Nevertheless the builders used a
lot of gold. Many years were required to mine and refine the gold,
and to mould it into the bricks and pieces of various shapes that
have been used in the building’s construction.”

“What is the
building?”

“It is the
Karavec Temple, the centre of the Karavec religion in the Milky
Way. There are more than one thousand monks living and working
within the confines of the temple. It is the place where every
Karavec on Hikon must visit at least once in his or her lifetime to
pay homage to the gods; and many come from other planets like Arion
also. The Great Savant himself spends many weeks here every
year.”

When the train
had almost completed the circuit of ‘The Loop’, and they approached
the capital of Hikon once again, Forster witnessed another amazing
feat of engineering. The track passed across a narrow bridge
spanning a large dry valley. Traversing the valley was an enormous
conveyor belt moving from the Cold Zone towards the Hot Zone. The
conveyor belt carried a series of huge blocks of ice.

“The ice has
been cut by machines on the periphery of the Cold Zone,” she said.
“Do you remember I told you that we have to transport ice to the
Hot Zone so that it can melt; otherwise we would never have enough
water to live.”

“Yes, I
remember. So this is how you do it?”

“Yes,
otherwise all the water on the planet would eventually freeze and
we would die.”

The train
pulled into the station and came to a silent halt. Forster emerged
from the carriage in a daze. He had never before beheld such
wonders, and he speculated on what other surprises there might be
in store for him.

Chapter 9 – Ziemia

“
Other
worlds are a mystery to me, and other cultures are an enigma; as
for other civilizations, I see them only as a threat.”

 The Book of
Karavec (38, 17)

Sirrow eased
the ferry
Gnaris Voyager
out of Ziemia orbit, and began the
descent to the planet’s surface.

“There is no
place for us to dock,” he said to Barrow, “so we will make a
controlled descent onto an uninhabited part of the planet. The scan
of the planet’s surface indicates that there is an area of
semi-desert several kilometres to the west of the biggest city. It
will allow us to land without being observed, and give us time to
get organised before we move in on the city.”

“Excellent,”
said Barrow.

“How will we
land undetected?” asked Forster.

“The ship has
a magnetic shield that makes it invisible to the detection systems
of all known aliens. I am counting on the belief that the Ziemians
have not developed the technology to penetrate our shields.”

“You are
probably right,” said Forster. “The message we intercepted suggests
that the civilization has not yet progressed beyond that of Earth
in the mid twenty-first century.”

A few minutes
later, Sirrow engaged the reverse thrust rockets on the underside
of his ship, and manoeuvred the craft until it sat motionless on
the planet’s surface. With the flick of a switch, he cut the
engines off, but kept the magnetic shield in place.

Through an
observation portal, Forster could see the terrain in the immediate
vicinity of the ship. The ground appeared to be quite flat, except
for several outcroppings of rocks that dotted the landscape. The
only vegetation he could see consisted of a number of tall plants
that he thought resembled a cross between a tree and a cactus.

After about an
hour observing the terrain and not seeing anything that might be a
threat, Barrow gave the all-clear for the soldiers to disembark.
When the hatch opened, Forster felt a waft of warm air enter the
cabin, but he was glad to receive confirmation that the atmosphere
was conducive to human life.

Sirrow pulled
a lever to lower a stairway onto the dusty ground. The soldiers
each took a pair of goggles, similar to the ones Elena had
described to Forster, the ones that she had seen at the meeting of
the Council, and they equipped themselves with protective clothing
and ray guns before descending the stairs.

When they
reached the surface, the commander of the soldiers, Kuthrow, used
his gnaris to relay a message to Barrow that there was nothing to
fear, and no observable threat. Barrow instructed Sirrow and his
crew to stay on board to look after the ship, and to be ready in
case the party should need to make a quick escape.

Then the
remainder of the party donned protective gear, and followed the
soldiers onto the surface. Barrow, Elena and Leila also wore the
goggles that protected the sensitive Karavec eyes from the bright
sunlight, but Forster didn’t need to wear them. However, he was
surprised to see that Lolena also didn’t wear any.

“Why do you
not wear the goggles?” he asked.

“I have
goggles, but have no need of them to protect my eyes. Did you not
notice that I am blind?” She grabbed a white cane that had been
hidden from view between her seat and the fuselage, and used it to
help feel her way. “I use gnaris to get a general view of what is
going on around me and to guide me, but I still need the stick to
negotiate my way around small spaces,” she explained.

Elena had been
listening to the conversation and joined in. “But, if you are
blind, why did you use the goggles when

”
She stopped abruptly, and clamped a hand over her mouth. There was
a stunned silence when Lolena, Barrow and Forster realised the
seriousness of the blunder.

Lolena spoke
in a low voice to hide their secret from Leila and Kuthrow. “How
did you know?

You were there?

You saw us!”

“Yes, I was
there. I

I’m sorry. Captain Forster
said

”

“Since when
have you taken your orders from Captain Forster?” Barrow could no
longer contain his rage.

Leila heard
the commotion, and saw the anger in Barrow’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”
she asked.

Barrow
regained his composure, and turned to answer the doctor’s question.
“Nothing to worry about. Just a difference of opinion between
Lolena and Elena. Nothing we can’t sort out.”

“I will deal
with you later,” he whispered to Elena.

“Let’s go,” he
said to the others.

They had
hardly set foot on the dusty ground and were still getting used to
their surroundings when they heard a “Whoop”, and saw a group of
seven aliens riding on four-legged animals galloping towards them.
The bipedal aliens looked quite similar to humans, though they had
smaller heads, and hair covered every part of their heads and
faces, except for the eyes and mouth. Using one hand, each alien
controlled his mount by tugging on reins attached to the heads and
necks of the beasts, and each of them wielded a stick made from
what appeared to be wood and metal in the other hand.

The Karavec
soldiers took defensive positions, falling to one knee and raising
their ray guns, but they were too late. The aliens had already
dismounted from their animals, taken aim and fired their sticks,
the explosions projecting small metal objects from the sticks at
high speed towards their targets.

The metal
missiles hit two Karavec soldiers who fell to the ground in
discomfort, but their protective clothing had prevented them from
being shot.

“What are
those weapons?” Elena whispered to Forster. “They seem so crude,
yet they are capable of maiming.”

“I believe
they are what humans used to refer to as rifles. They were commonly
used on Earth in the nineteenth century. Yes, they are crude
weapons, but still effective. Without their protective suits those
soldiers would have been killed.”

“Captain
Forster, do something,” said Barrow. “I could annihilate them in a
matter of seconds, but I would prefer to negotiate. We are here to
find out why the Karavec embryos were murdered, and these aliens
may hold the key to finding out the truth.”

“I
understand,” said Forster. “Lolena, can I borrow your cane?”

“Why?”

“You’ll see. I
want to show the aliens that we do not mean to harm them.”

Lolena handed
over the cane, and Forster removed a white handkerchief from his
pocket which he tied to one end of the cane. He also pulled his ray
gun from its sheath, and dropped it onto the ground. He then lifted
the cane in front of him, and began edging his way towards the
aliens.

“What’s he
doing?” asked Lolena.