NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (34 page)

I plugged in the earphone and looked at the Doctor as he sat on the armchair.

“So what is new?” I asked.

“You know that we mapped the geological activity. We found that your pool, like dozens of other pools, is connected to a network of tunnels deep in the ground. What's surprising is that once a year, like a geological clock, a seismological event takes place that creates a vacuum and sucks most of the water into huge cavities. Another event follows, sometime later, and forces gasses into these cavities that push the water back to the surface.”

“Yes, quite amazing,” I said with staged indifference. The information could have really helped with Shor's questions.

“Is this related to the information Sosi brought back?” asked Dug.

“Sosi brought two options. One that the plague is genetic and the other is that it is related to these pools. The genetic option doesn't make sense to us yet, but this is not conclusive.”

“Why doesn't it make sense?” asked Daio. “You all look very similar. I have no doubt you share a lot of genes.”

“I am aware of that,” said the Doctor. “As I said we are still working on it.”

“I guess if one of us gets sick we'll know for sure,” I said with grin.

“Is it possible that both options are correct?” asked Dug. “That is, maybe there are two separate cures to for the plague.”

“Maybe. We don't know yet.”

“Or maybe none of them,” continued Dug.

“Yes, that’s possible as well,” said the Doctor and I shifted uncomfortably just from the mere mention of this.

“It's too early to say anything at this stage,” the Doctor concluded.

“Shor asked me all sort of questions that I didn’t know the answers to,” I said. “Maybe if I’d given better answers the result would be more precise.”

“How could you have known what it would ask?” said Daio. “We are lucky you brought anything back.”

“Why do you like the second option Doctor? Do you have a theory about how the gases cause the plague?” asked Dug.

The Doctor nodded. “According to this option, as the gases rise into the air they somehow evolve into violent and heavy molecules. We still don't know how it works. We know the lungs are affected but there is still much that is not clear yet.”

“Wow. That’s amazing,” said Daio after a few seconds of silence and Dug raised his eyebrows in response.

Moah walked into the living room at that moment.

“Dinner is ready,” he said.

We all sat silently for a moment, trying to absorb the things the Doctor had told us. Gradually we stood up and walked into the dining room.

“How much longer until the plague begins this year?” I asked.

“A month. Maybe a bit more,” said Dug.

“Has it been a year already?” I asked, amazed.

“You left two months after the last plague,” said Daio.

“As I said there were a few eruptions in the last week," said the Doctor. "We expect there will be more soon so from this perspective it fits quite well."

The meal laid out on the table distracted me. Platters of steaming food made my mouth water and incredibly appetizing smells were rising into the air.

“Very impressive,” said Daio gazing at Moah.

“Thank you, sir.”

“It looks so nice I’m afraid to touch it,” said Dug.

I was still thinking about the Doctor’s words and I glanced at Su-thor. Everyone’s plates gradually filled, except that of the Doctor. He took only a few pieces of carrot and a pickled radish.

“The gas theory, it might explain why the plague mostly affects short people,” blurted Su-thor suddenly, gazing at the Doctor’s plate.

We all looked at her in surprise. “Heavier molecules would concentrate low to the ground,” she said.

The Doctor nodded as if he was trying to digest her idea. “I am no expert but I guess it's a possibility. Everyone here is short, the young children even more so,” he said.

“How could we handle such a thing?” asked Daio. “I mean, assuming it really is some violent molecule.”

“We could use masks in the short term,” said the Doctor.

“Masks,” said Daio wondering. “That doesn't sound practical. People can’t go around wearing masks for months.”

“We are working on a medicine and masks could buy us time to make sure it will work properly," said the Doctor.

“I am very happy to hear that,” said Daio, “Would it be a onetime dose or something they would need to take every year?”

“Every year,” said the Doctor, "That is what we are working on right now."

I‘d like to see you try to convince them to put on masks not to mention to take such a medicine,” said Dug.

“Yes, it wouldn’t be easy,” said the Doctor.

“But you are trying to save their lives,” said Su-thor.

Daio smiled and let out a sigh. Then his face turned bitter.

“You don't know these people,” said Dug. He leaned forward and whispered. “They are a deadly combination of permissiveness and stubbornness.”

“That's not true,” Daio said quickly.

“They are very conservative, that’s for sure,” said the Doctor as Moah stepped into the dining room.

“Do you think you will be able to come up with anything this year? I mean a medicine,” asked Daio.

“I doubt it,” said the Doctor. “We are working as fast as we can though. Maybe we'll have something in few weeks, but it will be close.”

“I don't know if I can take any more of the processions,” said Daio shaking his head.

“I think we need to wait until next year,” I said. “Maybe we need to think about our options a bit more. If it's as you say, we won't have a second chance. I’d rather deal with the processions this year, and have a solution next year, than fail now and kill any chance of trying to solve this in the near future.”

Daio stared at his plate and leaned back. His appetite was gone. “It's not only a matter of having a chance. Should we really sacrifice people this year for a chance it might be different next year?”

I spent the following weeks mostly with Su-thor. We were always together: in the front yard, on the porch, or learning Naanite. In the evenings, when I was alone, I surfed the network and looked for the news on Mampas and Seragon networks. When I felt strong enough I went walking with Su-thor to a walk in town. We talked about little things. We discussed everything from the native clothes of the Naanites to the new cars that were starting to appear in the streets. I thought a lot about Mampas, but I avoided thinking about the hard and bothersome questions that were still unanswered.

  One morning I woke up early convinced that nothing was really ever going to change on Naan, not without a push. I thought about all that had happened to me on Mampas. I’d scrambled into Shor, made enemies of the Desertians, and had many brushes with death, but who really cared? The Naanites didn’t care. I was starting to doubt the Doctor and his people would be able to do anything with the information I’d brought back. I think I would have doubted this even if Naan were normal. On the other hand, in a normal place they would have found the solution to this plague a long time ago. Everything that had happened grew out of the strangeness of Naan and the odd thinking of its people.

I couldn’t go back to sleep so I went downstairs, made a cup of tea, and went outside. I sat at the table and looked at the horizon. Mampas was about to set and it was large and bright right in front of me, hanging just above the horizon. I found the yellow swath of the desert and thought about Su-thor. Would her life on Naan will be better? As odd as the place was, maybe it was still better than the desert of Mampas.

A man suddenly appeared silhouetted against the setting planet. I thought I must be dreaming as the figure walked toward me. Two more silhouettes flanked the first. I sat up in my chair and blinked my eyes. I couldn't see their faces, or clothes, only dark images walking towards me.

“Sosi Plaser,” called the man. I recognized the accent and my heart fell. He was tall. When he came closer I could see his face. He looked old, his face burned. He wore a yellow hat and gray hair peeked from beneath it.

He nodded to one of the people behind him. The man walked hurried forward, yanked me to my feet, and held my arm tightly. The older man came forward and bound my hands with pair of handcuffs.

“What…” I mumbled.

“We need to talk,” he said and turned away. I was pushed along behind him.

“Who are you?” I asked although I knew they were Desertians.

Suddenly I decided this must be a dream. I’d been gazing at Mampas and then they’d suddenly walked out of its distant, yellow desert. It must be a dream.

We passed through the fence surrounding the yard and walked to a large car that was parked in the street. Someone opened the door. The old man ducked inside and I was pushed in behind him. The door was slammed behind me with a thump. 

The back seat of the car had two long bench seats, one in front of the other. The man sat across from me. Since the car was local we were hunched in face to face.

He removed his hat, and ran his fingers through his graying hair.

“I am a commander in the rebel army,” he said and looked at my face. “I was sent here by Oziri-Dos, to kill you.”

“I am sorry for…” I started to mumble.

“Oziri-Dos is very angry," he interrupted me. "He is hurt and aches for his daughter.”

“She is fine,” I said.

He leaned back and slapped my face.

“She is not fine. Because of you she is now a traitor. She is alive only because Oziri-Dos is the chief commander. If for some reason Oziri-Dos loses his position or his life, you can be sure that someone will come here and settle the score with both of you.”

“I didn't want this,” I said, “I didn't…”

“You kidnapped his daughter,” he called.

“It was she…” I started to say when he leaned back again and punched me in the face with all his strength.

“You kidnapped her spirit. Her soul. I don't know what you did to brainwash her, but apparently you succeeded.”

I wanted to tell him I’d done nothing. She’d done what she’d done on her own. I wanted to say that her life on Mampas must have been hard if she preferred something else, but my burning face and spinning head made it clear this was not an open discussion.

“I am sorry,” I mumbled again. “I didn't mean to cause him any harm. If I had known where all this would lead, I would have done things differently.”

Two people leaning against the car’s window distracted me. I looked at him but they drew my attention away again. They were Naanite. They made no attempt to look inside, but only leaned on the car. I guessed that they didn't know we were inside.

“Oziri-Dos asked me to tell you that he is going to let you live for a little while longer. You are now officially responsible for his daughter’s life. You probably remember the explosives we implanted in your body? You are only alive because we didn’t activate them.”

He pulled a device from his pocket, attached it to my shoulder and pressed a small white button. A shiver went through my arm and spread to the rest of my body. 

“It's only a test,” he said, and then moved the device to the other shoulder and pressed the button. I felt as if I was going to faint. 

“Relax. I’m only charging the controllers and making sure everything is functioning properly. I’m also checking to see that you haven't tampered with anything.”

“I didn't,” I said immediately and jerked back.

“Of course you didn’t,” he replied and repeated the procedure with my left hip and then my right hip. I felt like I was losing control over my body. My hands and legs shook and my breathing grew heavy. 

“Looks okay,” he said and smiled. “I will spare you the test of the one in your head. The effect on the nerves could shut you down for few days and you have a new job to do, right?”

I nodded breathing heavily.

“If one hair falls from her head, you better be near a hospital. It doesn’t take long to bleed out after losing a hand or a leg. If something serious happens to her we'll come and destroy everything that is dear to you, before taking your head off.”

He leaned to the side and knocked on the window. One of the Naanites leaning on the window turned around, looked at me, and smiled. A deep scar ran from below his left eye along his cheek. He waved to the man across from me and then patted his friend on the shoulder. They both disappeared.

“It wasn't hard to find people to keep an eye on you and your brothers. You are foreign, like the conquerors of Mampas. Not everyone here likes you. If something happens, you can be sure that we'll know about it. Anything. If her breakfast does not appear on the table on time we'll know.” He clenched his teeth so hard I thought he was going to hit me again. “Lean over,” he said. 

He unlocked the handcuffs and shoved me toward the door as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me anymore. I opened door opened and fell out. The car lurched forward and disappeared.

I went back to the front yard and sat in the chair and tried to absorb everything that had happened. My cup of tea was still warm, but so was my body. I cleaned the blood from my nose but my face was a bit swollen. My body had been so battered for so long that I didn’t think anyone would notice the fresh bruises. There was no reason tell anyone about the explosives in my body since I assumed
there was no way to remove them.
Maybe that was a mistake.

When Su-thor came out tears came to my eyes. I wanted to tell her so badly, but I didn't want to make her feel sorry for me. I didn't want her to know that I was her slave, that if anything happened to her I would be blown to pieces.

I ate breakfast with everyone. After the meal I told them I didn't feel well and went back to my room. I slept for a few hours, but didn't leave my bed after I woke up.

I thought of the explosives in my body. Their coming back to my life made me feel nothingness. There was nothing I could do. I pushed my thoughts away from them and tried to think how to take care of Su-thor and how to gain back the strength I had before I left to Mampas.

The explosives distracted my thoughts. Oziri-Dos doesn’t need to come here in order to kill me. I had no doubt he’d already figured out how to activate these explosives from Mampas. Any radio station in Naan would work to transmit the signal and with the developing network it would only get easier. All he needed to do was to make sure Su-thor wasn’t near me. Maybe that was what I need to do. Stay close to her. But maybe I shouldn't.

I knew I could scramble the network if I knew what the transmission code was. I doubt Oziri-Dos kept it on the network and even if he did the only way to find it was to scramble into the network on Mampas and risk everyone on Naan.

These thoughts were still in my mind a week later as I made my way to the University of Naan to meet the Doctor. I was walking down one of the streets, along a row of houses near the outskirts of the town. The building that housed the University of Naan was far beyond the end of the street, isolated in open space. A wind rose as I passed the last house on the street. I stopped some distance from the university building and looked at it. I had long ago stopped chuckling when I heard the phrase Naan University, but standing here and looking at the building, I could not avoid it. 

The building was old, big, and impressive, compared to other buildings on Naan. Green fields unfolded beyond it and a few tall trees stood nearby. This was how the Doctor had described the building to me; an isolated stone building at the north edge of the city. It was as if people tried to avoid any contact with it. A white wooden fence surrounded the building on three sides. Wide stone stairs led to the entrance level, where four massive marble columns supported the entrance. Just past the columns was a large foyer, and beyond that were two large wooden doors.

I passed the fence and walked to the stairs. Their edges were worn smooth and rounded. I was surprised. I wondered what could cause such wear in a place so seldom visited. I crossed the foyer and pushed open one of the heavy wooden doors. The smell of old wood surrounded me as I entered the building. The door closed behind me with a boom that echoed in the space around me. In front of me were stairs. A decorated wooden handrail paralleled them to the second floor.