Ice Trilogy (32 page)

After that we had no problem setting up the newly acquired brothers and sisters. The Brotherhood bought stone caves in the cities and their outskirts, iron machines to travel in, objects and substances, weapons, and clothes worn by military meat machines.

Changes soon happened in the country of German-speaking meat machines. A meat machine that spoke loudly and furiously came to power. It loved to speak in front of crowds of meat machines. The crowd listened to it and believed it. This meat machine called on all German-speaking meat machines to unite in order to fight against meat machines that spoke different languages. It said that German-speaking meat machines were the best in the world. They were the smartest, the most honest, and the most responsible. Therefore they should rule over all the other meat machines. But the German- speaking meat machines had very little room for living. That’s why their stone caves were crowded, they had little food, and their children grew up weak and unhealthy. This meat machine said that German-speaking meat machines had to make many military machines and go to different countries to conquer new space for themselves. In these other countries there would be much food. And it would be possible to build new, spacious stone caves. In them the children of German-speaking meat machines would grow up healthy and happy.

Most of the German-speaking meat machines responded to the appeal of this meat machine. They liked its decisiveness. They called this meat machine their leader. It became the ruler of this country and instructed everyone what to do, when, and how. And the meat machines followed orders. But whoever didn’t believe this meat machine and didn’t want to follow its orders could not live peacefully in this country. The leader passed new laws to guide the country’s life and created a strong organization. The organization made sure that German-speaking meat machines lived according to the new laws.

We
understood
that without support in this organization, it was dangerous to continue the search.

And the Brotherhood decided to wait a bit and gather strength, in order to acquire support in various ways from the new authorities.

The Brotherhood
compared
the two countries where we began our search: the Russian-speaking and the German-speaking. They differed not only in size and the number of meat machines living there. The crowds of meat machines in these countries had their own distinct
inner drone
. In the German-speaking crowd this
inner sound raged
about Order. The crowd
yearned
for Order. But only in the world of meat machines. It believed the world of the Earth to represent Absolute Order. In the Russian-speaking crowd there was an entirely different
inner drone
. It also raged about Order, but not in the world of meat machines — in the surrounding world. The Russian-speaking crowd was
vaguely disturbed
about the absence of Absolute Order in the world. It wanted to fix many things in this world. It considered the nature of meat machines perfection. But, raging about Absolute Order for the surrounding world and fiercely striving for it, it involuntarily introduced Disorder into the lives of meat machines. The
drone
of the Russian-speaking crowd destroyed the nature of the meat machines. Whereas the
drone
of the German-speaking crowd attempted to improve it.

In our search we had to take both
drones
into account. We
named
these countries in our own way. Although the big one was in
essence
the country of Disorder, we named it the Country of Ice, because the Ice that lay in it was the most important thing for us. The smaller country we called the Country of Order.

But the most important thing was that we
felt
that these countries were moving toward each other
in agony.
Their
inner
drones
were in essence quite distinct, but when they combined, they merged into a certain very particular
drone
, one that was indispensable for both of them, though they didn’t have a clue about this. They considered each other enemies. We
understood
that between them a huge war would soon begin.

And the Brotherhood had to prepare for it.

Fer and I moved to the mountains, to the large stone cave that once belonged to the family of brother Kovro. Now it belonged to the Brotherhood. There was a forest around the cave. It grew on the mountains. Twenty-nine brothers and forty-four sisters lived in this cave. The rest of the brothers and sisters lived in other places in this country. Fer and I spoke with the brothers and sisters through our hearts. We
were anxious
. Because we were aging
very
rapidly. Of the entire Brotherhood, only Fer and I could see the hearts of
ours
. We could only do this
together
. Separately, neither Fer nor I possessed the Gift of the Light. We could only search together. And immediately find ours. Each search shook our hearts and destroyed our bodies. We could barely walk. The brothers drove us in iron machines and moved us in wheelchairs. Our arms and legs trembled. Our bodies were weakening and drying up. Wrinkles covered our faces. Most of our free time we slept, gathering strength. The brothers fed us fruits, bathed us in milk, rubbed oils on our bodies. They took care of us. Fer and I didn’t participate in any of the Brotherhood’s work other than the search. For this was the Most Important Work.

But we
were anxious
.

Because we felt the rapid aging of our bodies. After aging, earthly death would follow. And we would be unable to search. Or help the Brotherhood. We had to find two successors who could also
see
together, like we did. We
tested
the hearts of the newly acquired. We searched for others like us. We tried replacing Fer or me with another of the brothers or sisters. But no one could replace us. And that was the hidden
threat
to the Brotherhood.

We asked our hearts. But they stayed silent. The only thing we could do was search for
ours
. And search among
ours
.

There was no other way.

Embracing, Fer and I fell asleep. Our hearts searched even in our sleep. They
recalled
the hearts of the others. And
tested
them.

This continued endlessly.

For two Earth years we prepared for the continuation of the search. Finally the long-awaited day arrived. That summer in a southern city of the Country of Order an important event had occurred. The whole country had waited for it with impatience. In that city tens of thousands of the strongest meat machines, those most devoted to the leader, gathered. Along with them gathered the most important meat machines of the country, the ones who helped the leader rule over millions of meat machines. Over a period of six days all those gathered were supposed to be convinced how strong, united, devoted to the ideas of the leader, and prepared to go to war for new lands they were. The entire country prepared for this event.

The Brotherhood prepared for it too. For us, such a gathering of meat machines offered the possibility of finding some of
ours
. And not only among the simple meat machines. But among the authorities as well.

By order of the leader each meat machine in his country was supposed to know everything about this meeting of the strongest meat machines. To achieve this, hundreds of meat machines were hired who knew how to write letters on paper so that all who read these letters in other cities would have a good idea of what was happening at the gathering in the southern city. But in addition to meat machines who could write letters rapidly, the leader hired one meat machine who could produce shadows on white using various substances and light. And produce them so that any meat machines who watched these shadows would immediately understand what had happened at that very same large gathering. The Brotherhood decided to use this meat machine. Fer and I
found out about
her life. She loved not only to be a shadow on white but to create other shadows. More than anything she was afraid of dying in her sleep. For this reason she slept very little and lightly. She also really loved the leader. Not as a leader but as a vivid, strong meat machine. She thought of him as a fountain of hot water illuminated by a blue light. And she dreamed of making his shadow on white. To realize her dream she hired one hundred and seventy meat machines connected with the production of shadows on white.

The Brotherhood had already been working in the world of meat machines for several years, producing shadows on white. Therefore the brothers made an effort to work in her group. Twenty-nine meat machines were supposed to watch the gathering of meat machines through special iron boxes from different angles. In these boxes, with the aid of substances and light, shadows on white gradually added up. Of the twenty-nine who worked with the iron boxes, six were our brothers and another seven meat machines worked for the Brotherhood. Of the remaining one hundred and forty-one of ours there were two brothers, two sisters, and twelve meat machines who also worked for the Brotherhood.

Everything began with the arrival of the ruler. He flew in on an iron machine, got into another iron machine, and drove to the center of the city. The meat machines stood on the street and welcomed the leader. But Fer and I didn’t
look through
the crowd. Because it was moving.

Fer and I stood near the large stone cave where the leader was supposed to stay. The cave was decorated with red-and-black material. The leader drove up to the cave, entered it, and stood at an open window. The crowds of meat machines shouted for joy. The leader raised his right arm and showed the crowd his palm. At this moment Fer and I
saw
him. He wasn’t one of us. We
looked
into his life. It writhed with a furious violence. Like the ruler of the Country of Ice, the leader
adored
his power over millions of meat machines. But even more strongly, he
adored
the possibility of losing power over millions of people. He sought power in order to lose it in the most agonizing way possible. This was the main passion of his life, although he himself
wasn’t aware of it
.

The ruler of the Country of Ice wanted power simply in order to rule. Power was the only thing he
adored
.

Over those six days, Fer and I attended all the gatherings of meat machines. At the first gathering the Brotherhood dressed us in the clothes of meat machines who tilled the earth and grew crops. We greeted the leader along with the other earth-tillers. We were the oldest of them. At another gathering the brothers dressed me in the clothes of a fighting meat machine. On my chest they hung metallic articles that meat machines are awarded for knowing how to kill well. I was seated in a wheelchair, Fer stood behind me. At that gathering there were many meat machines who had fought. The leader spoke to them, as did other high-placed meat machines. At the gathering of meat machines who built roads and stone caves, Fer and I were seated in a box with two windows. While the leader greeted the crowd, we
watched
the crowd through these windows. And we
remembered
ours. The next was the gathering of young meat machines. We were brought to that one in two large suitcases. They were set up next to each other. We
looked through
the huge crowd of rapturously shouting young meat machines. Finding
ours
in it, we
remembered
them. The next day the meat machine that produced shadows on white worked with her group in a place where the young meat machines who had come to the gathering lived temporarily. We were in this group. And we easily
recalled
the newly acquired. The brothers found out their earthly names. At the gathering of meat machines that gave birth to meat machines, Fer sat in a wheelchair, and I stood behind her. She greeted the leader along with all the other meat machines and listened to his speech. He said that meat machines should give birth to healthy, strong meat machines. During his speech we
looked through
the crowd. There were also gatherings of smaller groups of meat machines. We attended several of those as well.

On the sixth day the leader gave a short speech. After that the meat machines organized themselves into even rows and began to leave the city. Other meat machines shouted after them. Meat machines that knew how to extract various sounds from objects blew forcefully into them and banged on them loudly. These sounds accompanied the even rows of meat machines that were leaving the city.

The leader flew off aboard a flying machine. His assistants left the city in machines that moved by water and fire. And only the meat machines that lived in the city remained.

The search had ended. It was
very
important.

Seventy-six brothers and sisters merged into our Brotherhood. And we were strengthened in the Country of Order. Brothers Pot, Iya, Men, and Ofka occupied high positions among the ruling meat machines. Brothers Zel, Yapor, Ili, and An had power in the leader’s herd of guards. Brother Nieg and sister Vafu had a great deal of money, many stone caves, and expensive objects. Many strong and healthy young people were now in the Brotherhood, and they were ready to do anything for the Primordial Light.

But this search in the southern city turned out to be
far from simple
for Fer and me.

Our bodies had lost weight, our muscles had grown weak, our arms hung limply. We stopped taking in food and only drank water. Water that fell from the sky. And we breathed. Our hearts beat rarely. The sisters warmed us with their bodies, held us in their arms, placed us in fresh cow’s milk. Then they wrapped us in thick material and placed us in the sun. We slept.

This continued for a long time. The Earth turned around the sun. The planets and stars, which we had created, followed their own orbits.

Life did not abandon our bodies. They began to accept food once again and to move.

When Fer and I had grown stronger, the sisters taught us to walk. Holding on to each other, we walked near the stone cave in the mountains. Then we would sit on the grass. We touched each other’s bodies. And hearts, which were capable of
noticing
and rescuing thousands of kin among the hearts in the crowds of meat machines.