The Power of Gnaris (15 page)

Forster and
Lolena donned the cloaks that Jesse’s men had stolen from the
friars outside St. John’s church, and pulled the cowls over their
heads.

“We must go
now,” said Jesse. “So, we’ll say adios, and good luck.”

A few moments
later, Jesse and his men had disappeared in a cloud of dust, racing
away towards the setting sun, taking with them the wagon that
Forster and Lolena had ridden on.”

“Come on,
let’s go,” said Forster. “Give me your hand. I will help guide
you.”

“Thank you,”
said Lolena.

They descended
towards the gate, with Forster leading and Lolena behind, resting
her right hand on his left shoulder, and carrying her white stick
in her left hand.

On the other
side of the gate, they could see a bridge that spanned the river
just beyond The Pentagon.

Forster
noticed flying machines with rotor blades on their tops that stood
on pads between the Pentagon building and the river.
No doubt
they travel from one city to another using those machines
, he
thought. He recalled seeing pictures of similar machines on the
cosmoweb.
Helicopters, that’s what they used to call
them.

When they
approached the gate, the guards jumped to attention. The
Technocrats inside the city had erected the fence to separate
themselves from the other inhabitants of Ziemia, and neither the
people of the city nor outsiders passed through the gate often.

“Who goes
there?” one of the guards asked.

He received an
unexpected answer.

“Tell them the
truth,” Lolena whispered to Forster.

“I am Jim
Forster an exile from the planet Earth, and this is Lolena from
Hikon.”

The second
guard peered deep into Lolena’s eyes. “Are you some kind of
crazies? Why is your face green? It’s not Halloween.”

His companion
laughed.

“No, we really
are from other planets,” said Forster. We wish for an audience with
President Kowalski.”

The second
guard looked at his companion, and laughed again. “So, this crazy
man thinks he can just walk in here and expect to meet with the
president.”

“What’s wrong
with him,” said the first guard, pointing at Lolena. “Why does he
not talk? What’s that white stick? Is it a weapon?”

Lolena took
her goggles from her pocket and placed them over her eyes,
concentrating her mind on the task ahead. Then she threw back her
cowl. “
She
keeps her head covered because
she
is not
like you. I am Karavec, and you must do what I say.”

The guards did
not understand the Karavec language, but the message soon became
clear.

It took just a
few seconds for her to reach out with her gnaris to Barrow who was
many kilometres away in the west. Moments later, a stream of power
passed from Barrow across the void to Lolena, and instantly
transmitted through her goggles, resulting in a flash of energy
aimed at the first guard’s legs; then another flash directed at the
second guard.

The two guards
squirmed on the ground, howling in pain.

“What
the

?” one of them began, but Lolena cut
him short.

“You chose to
mock me, a Karavec. You are a lowlife that would not even be fit to
be a servant on Hikon. Now, open the gate and let me and my
companion pass through. After we have passed, you will close the
gate and will not remember a thing. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Lolena,
Great leader of the Karavec and member of the Council, I hear and
obey.”

“I also obey,”
said the other rising to his feet and grappling at his belt for the
key ring that held the keys to unlock the gate.

Five minutes
later, Forster and Lolena strolled through the gate that led to the
city of Washington. Lolena had removed her goggles and replaced her
cowl.

“How did you
do that?” Forster asked.

“It is the
gnaris,” she explained. “But I could not have done it alone. I
needed the gnaris of Barrow to aid me. Without the gnaris of the
Great Savant, I only have limited power.”

“And how did
that guard know that you are a leader of the Karavec and member of
the Council? How did they understand your words? You spoke Karavec,
yet they understood and replied in your language.”

“The gnaris
spoke to him. When I directed the power from the goggles towards
the guards, they momentarily knew me, knew Barrow and the Karavec.
They knew and understood everything about us, but only for a few
moments. As soon as the power of the gnaris was withdrawn, they
ceased to know us. Now they have forgotten everything; even that we
were there, and that they opened the gate for us.”

“I have
forgotten the power of gnaris,” said Forster scratching his head.
“I still find it hard to understand.”

“It is the
Karavec way. You are not Karavec, so you do not understand.
However, I cannot continue to use the gnaris. It is draining, and I
can no longer locate the Great Savant. It seems that he is
travelling

in the air. What can this
mean?”

“More
unanswered questions,” said Forster. “But, if you cannot use the
gnaris, we must do as Jesse suggests, and rest for the night under
the shadow of the bridge.”

“I can still
sense with my gnaris,” said Lolena, “and I can sense that there are
people under the bridge.”

“They must be
the homeless people,” said Forster.

Some of the
homeless sat huddled together for warmth, sharing a blanket or a
cardboard box to protect them from the chilling wind. Some were
swigging from bottles of liquor, while others lay in a semi-stupor
on the cold concrete.

But the
homeless were not alone. Two friars had already arrived.

“Wait,” said
Forster, pulling Lolena back into the shadows. “Those friars will
recognise that we are imposters.”

The two friars
were attired just like Forster and Lolena. One carried a bag of
bread rolls and the other a pot full of some steaming liquid. They
placed the food on the ground, then stood, put their hands together
and closed their eyes before reciting some kind of chant.

“They pray to
their god,” whispered Forster.

At that
moment, there was a loud whirring noise when one of the helicopters
passed low over the bridge.

“How do they
tolerate those primitive machines?” Lolena asked.

After
completing the prayer, the friars began distributing the bread, and
poured cups of soup for the hungry wastrels.

“They are kind
people, and I do not wish them harm,” said Lolena, “but we need to
sleep here tonight. Set your ray gun to stun and put them to sleep.
In fact, put all these creatures to sleep for several hours so that
we may also rest.

* * * * *

Early the next
morning, the two imposters emerged from under the bridge wearing
their disguises. The real friars and the homeless people still
slept.

When they
reached the far side of the bridge, they turned north heading
towards the White House, the residence of President Kowalski. They
found themselves walking along 14
^th
Street, a busy
three-laned highway.

“I wonder why
the streets have such strange names,” said Forster.

Lolena pricked
up her ears, and listened. “What kind of vehicles do I hear?” she
asked. “They’re very noisy, and I can smell fumes.” In the absence
of sight, Lolena possessed keenly developed senses of hearing and
smell which aided her gnaris.

“I have read
about these vehicles,” said Forster. “They are archaic vehicles
that were in common use on Earth in the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries. They are powered by a liquid fossil fuel they call
gasoline. They have engines that use a controlled explosion of the
fuel to drive pistons that turn wheels used to propel the vehicle
forward.”

“How crude! I
thought these people had entered the technological age.”

“They are
obviously just at the beginning of the technological age. They
still have a lot to learn if they are to advance further.”

While they
made the three kilometre walk to the president’s residence, Lolena
used her white stick to tap her way through the busy streets, but
also relied on Forster to lead her along the sidewalk, in some
places packed with pedestrians bustling their way to work. They
also had to cross many busy roads.

They passed
several white buildings that were just four or five stories high.
One, on their left, was called the Financial Management Building,
and another on the right had its name engraved in large letters on
its facade.

“It says
Department of The Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing,” said
Forster. “Many of these building have a flag flying from their
rooftops. I guess these must be government buildings.”

“Describe the
flag to me.”

“It has red
and white stripes and white stars on a blue background in one
corner. I believe I’ve seen that flag before on the cosmoweb. It’s
a flag from the United States on planet Earth.”

They passed
another building on the left named the Holocaust Museum.

“What is the
meaning of holocaust?”

“It means the
killing and annihilation of one race by another. This happened a
long time ago on Earth.”

“How
primitive! We Karavec practise sacrifice to the gods, but that is
for a purpose, to appease the gods. We do not kill or annihilate
another race. Why did these people do these barbaric things?”

“It must have
been out of jealousy, or greed. As I said, these people have a lot
to learn.”

They reached a
major intersection. The road that crossed theirs bore a sign with
the words ‘Independence Avenue’.

“Independence
is another strange legacy from the history of planet Earth. It
means that one group of people remained under the control of
another until they were eventually given their freedom as an
independent nation, after either working for it or, in most cases,
fighting for it.”

“More
fighting. Don’t these people ever tire of fighting each other?”

After they had
crossed Independence Avenue, they found themselves in a park area
lined with tree-like plants. Towards the west, Forster saw the tall
needle-like obelisk that Jesse had spoken about, the Washington
Monument.

They crossed
two more intersections

Jefferson Drive
and Madison Drive.

“Jesse told us
that Jefferson and Madison were two other former presidents of the
United States,” said Forster.

At the next
major intersection with Constitution Avenue, the parkland finished
and they entered another area of government buildings, one called
the Department of Commerce.

They passed D
St on the right, before arriving at the intersection with
Pennsylvania Avenue. Where the streets intersected, the White House
building came into sight towards the north-west. In the opposite
direction in the distance, Forster recognised the Capitol Building
that Jesse had pointed out to them the previous day.

They turned
left into Pennsylvania Avenue, and walked towards the west. Forster
noticed another park area on their right called Pershing Park. Then
they came to another intersection with 15
^th
Street,
which they crossed to reach E St, a road closed to traffic. They
turned right into East Executive Avenue, which they followed until
they arrived at the south east gate of the White House, facing
Hamilton Place.

Set in large
grounds, with gardens and lawns tended by an army of gardeners, the
official residence of the president of Ziemia was surrounded by a
perimeter fence, and armed sentries guarded its gates. The sentries
wore black uniforms and peaked hats, and carried automatic
weapons.

“How are we
going to get inside?” asked Forster.

“The same way
we got inside the city.”

After Lolena
had used her gnaris, enhanced by that of Barrow, they passed
unhindered into the grounds of the White House, and the guards
remembered nothing. The South Lawn had large areas of mown grass,
interspersed with clumps of tree-like plants, gardens, tennis
courts, a swimming pool, and many other recreational facilities for
the use of the president and his family.

A helicopter
stood in the middle of the South Lawn.

The White
House, a grand building with colonnades, was constructed from
sandstone and, as its name suggests, was coloured white. The flag
with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue background in
one corner, fluttered from its rooftop.

Keeping their
heads low, they moved from the cover of one tree or bush to another
until they came within earshot of the building.

Forster
stopped to question Lolena. “Now, tell me how we can even get
inside the building, let alone manage to see to the president?
Don’t tell me

you’re going to use the
gnaris again.”

“That won’t be
necessary,” said Barrow.

Forster looked
up towards the source of the voice. Lolena just smiled. She had
known from the moment that she had used her gnaris to gain access
to the grounds that the Great Savant was close by.

The Great
Savant of the Karavec stood on a balcony of the building, side by
side with an imposing humanoid figure who Forster knew
instinctively must be President Kowalski.

Chapter 13 –
The Meeting of Leaders

“
The leader
of an inferior species should be treated with contempt.”

 The Book of
Karavec (31, 49)

The Great
Savant and Elena had escaped from the Prehistorics, and had just
reached the far side of a small river that meandered its way
through a copse of tree-like plants when an arrow whistled past
Barrow’s ear, and embedded itself into the trunk of one of the
plants.