NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (47 page)

“The illness is really dragging on with her,” said Dug.

Daio nodded while looking at her.

“She should have stayed in the hospital. Maybe there it would have ended by now.”

“It?”

“You know what I mean. Maybe she would have walked out of there by now. Maybe even without losing her hand.”

“There is no treatment there that she is not receiving here,” said Daio.

“Still they have doctors.”

“There is one doctor on every shift in the hospitals and all he does is give out pain relievers.”

“I understand a new team went out today,” said Dug after few seconds of silence.

“Yes.”

“Any news there? Have they found something?”

Daio frowned and shook his head. “Nothing.”

“And Musan? Is he still cooperative, or is he also fed up with this?'

“He’s not fed up with anything. He will keep looking until Sosi is found.”

“If they ever do,” said Dug.

“If?”

“It's a small planet, yet it's easy to disappear into one of the valleys. You need more than a few hovercrafts to find someone that doesn't want to be found.”

“I guess, but still we'll do what we can. Maybe he'll change his mind and leave some sign.”

“It's also easy to die out there, especially if you are alone. He could die of starvation or thirst, be killed by an animal, or simply get sick. It already happened to him once.”

“Why are you doing this?" asked Daio turning to look at him. Immediately he turned his head towards Su-thor and hoped she didn't hear him. "Do you really hate him that much?” he continued almost whispering.

“I don’t hate him,” said Dug and turned around to face Daio. “The people in the Commons are talking.”

“No they are not. Musan is sending his teams on routine patrols and the searches are part of them.”

“They are not fools. Maybe they haven't noticed what you are doing yet, but they will at some point and it will cost us dearly.”

“And what exactly am I doing?”

“I spoke to one of the workers who came to take care of the trees, a man with a deep scar on his face. I was surprised to hear words of empathy coming from his mouth. People are starting to get used to us and that is not something to take lightly.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because we could lose the little that we have in a moment.”

“The people from the House of Commons know about the new hovercrafts. They approved the purchase. They know that Musan needs to train his pilots, and they finally understand the need to map Naan.” He took a sip from his cup and gazed again at Su-thor. “The searches for Sosi are secondary to Musan’s activities and they will continue until we find him,” he said with finality.

The tress looked like tall mushrooms now, thought Su-thor, gazing through them, with their tall trunks and branches high in the air. Evening was near. Mampas hung over the mountains, but she was happy she couldn't see it from where she was. She couldn't bear the mixed emotions seeing it always created. 

An oxygen tank was on the shelf underneath the chair, and a compact control unit that the Doctor had arranged for her was hanging on the chairs handles. Her right arm was tied to the arm of the chair. Ashima had tied it there before they brought her down from the second floor. She didn’t want the useless hand to get tangled in the wheel. Her hand was still tied but she didn't care. The oxygen mask was still over her face, but the flow was less than in the past.

Her condition had stabilized after the incident two days ago, but her disease was still there. The swing effect was maddening. Every time she thought she felt better, the disease came back and her breathing became shallow. This was how she described the suffocation she was feeling. She couldn't tell if the symptoms of the disease were fading, but she was pleased she could tell they weren’t intensifying.

She’d had additional insights regarding the disease. For example, she'd say that the disease was going to gain momentum to come back all at once, like a blow to a stump that was sawed almost completely through to completely disconnect it. She’d gotten this idea when looking through her window at the people trimming the trees.

She lowered the mask and took a long and slow breath. Not a deep one.  Deep breaths could suddenly awake all sorts of things.

“Is everything okay?” asked Ashima sitting behind her and to the left.

“Everything is great,” she answered.

But nothing was great. She still had the feeling that if Naan were a normal place, it would be possible to manage this plague much better. She didn't think about the plague and what caused it anymore. No one knew the cause or what should be done to stop it, if there even was a solution. But this disease, and the infections that followed, were a disease like any other. With the equipment, available on any advanced planet, it was possible the disease could be managed without difficulty. 

She thought of Mampas. If, in some mysterious way she had caught the disease there, she would probably have received proper treatment and would have walked away unscathed. She looked down again at her right hand. She tried to move it, but beyond a strange tingling feeling, the hand remained where it was.

She took another long slow breath and looked out across the fields, between the trunks of the trees. The view was clearer now. The field just beyond the trees was green. So were the other fields past it. It was the growing season of the year. She was happy to see green covering everything. The mountain was swaddled in a green blanket. It was so different than what she remembered on Mampas.

She thought of Sosi as well. She often did, and with time she’d come to the conclusion that he wasn't healthy in his soul. It happens sometimes to special people. Their souls cannot contain their capabilities. She remembered the things he said during in the days before he left. They were like a puzzle she’d put together and concluded that he knew something, something new about the plague, something that was on tip of their noses.

A hum came to her ears. Everything was so quiet around the house that she could hear things far away. The noise stopped and she looked around, thinking it might be some bug.

“Do you need anything?” asked Ashima and walked up to her.

Su-Thor shook her head, but then the noise came back. “Do you hear that?” she asked.

Ashima looked around her. “Maybe…” she said but paused.

“Hovercraft,” said Su-thor.

“Yes, maybe,” said Ashima.

Su-thor closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. “It’s more than one, maybe several,” she said and open her eyes.

Ashima looked at the sky. “They are far away,” said Su-thor.

She heard footsteps coming up from behind. “It’s probably Musan.” said Daio, passing by Su-thor’s chair.

“Do you see them?” asked Ashima.

Daio looked at the sky and Su-thor started to cough.

“Come, let's get you inside,” said Ashima. “I don't understand what is so exciting. It's only hovercrafts.”

Su-thor put the mask back on her face and shook her head. She removed the mask for a second and said. “No, I am fine.”

“This excitement is not good for you,” said Ashima.

“I would be excited inside the house as well,” she said and her anger began to rise.

“Musan would have called me if they found him,” said Daio moving closer to her. 

She looked at him and shook her head. She didn't know what she felt for Sosi. Was she simply angry with him? Or was there something under her anger? Something from the days when he was still with her, something that would revive when the anger passed? She coughed again. Ashima played with the control panel, mumbling something to herself.

When the noise grew louder Daio called Musan, but the line was disconnected. Something unusual was happening here. He looked at Ashima and motioned her to the house with his head.

“No,” said Su-thor and grabbed his sleeve with her left hand. She looked at the sky. She thought she recognized something in the noise, but she wasn't sure. She raised her hand up and covered her eyes, trying to focus.

“What's wrong?” asked Daio.

“That noise,” she said removing her hand looking up.

“It's probably the new hovercrafts.”

“It's sharp. Too sharp,” she said and took a deep breath.

Dion was about to set. Mampas had yet to rise, but I could see a bright area above the mountains. A few hovercrafts flew by above me as I walked from the creek to the shade. I wanted to run to the trees, but I couldn't. I wasn’t sick; at least I didn't feel sick. I hadn’t eaten anything bad as far as I knew. Everything I ate was fresh, but maybe that wasn’t enough. At least I had plenty of water.

When I reached the shed and looked back at the vegetation that hid the water, I suddenly remembered the paragraph. It wasn’t clear in my mind, but I remembered the key words.

'Reengineering of the molecular coupling sites.'

I remember what it meant. At least what I thought it meant. That insight had driven me from the town, from the Doctor, from my brothers, and eventually from Su-thor.

The Doctor and his people had assumed this meant the coupling between the molecules and the binding sites in the lungs. That was what I’d thought too, at first. It was the most obvious interpretation. That was what I thought when I first saw the paragraph. Although I saw it only after I knew their interpretation, I doubt I would have thought differently otherwise. But this was only one interpretation. I realized this like I many times realize things; suddenly without any intentional thoughts. 

Reengineering of the molecular coupling sites meant the coupling sites of the different gases as they emerge from the bottom and enter the pools. It could refer to how they coupled to each other, or to the water molecules, or to something else, as long as they became heavy enough not to leave the surface of the water.

Interpreted in that way it could explain why there was no specific solution. No medicine. There would be too many combinations to bind the gases to heavy substance such that they won't leave the water.

I didn’t remember the rest of the paragraph now, but I thought this was how we should understand it. Still I wasn't sure. I had failed so many times that I lost my self-confidence. This was the reason why I was stuck here on this hill. I knew would probably die here out of exhaustion. I looked at the sky. Unless someone came to kill me first.

A hovercraft suddenly passed above the trees. This time it was lower. I pulled my legs in and leaned back into the shade as far as I could. I felt a sting in my left leg and moved uncomfortably. There was another twinge in my right leg and I tried to reposition myself better. I thought all of the weight I’d lost had me sitting on my nerves. The hovercraft returned and there were two more stings in my shoulders. These jolted me so hard that I pulled my legs straight and rolled over with pain. The hovercraft leveled off at the treetops above me, and sent a hurricane of sand and leaves into the air. I closed my eyes, but could see it land though my eyelashes. As the wash of its turbines died I saw two men jumping out. One held something in his hand and pointed towards me and they both walked over.