Rital of Proof (38 page)

Green laughed. "He's not much of a critic; he loves everything."

"That can be a good trait."

"Yes, it can."

A line furrowed the center of his forehead. "It can also cause him severe disillusionment."

Green watched him carefully. "As it did you?"

He observed her silently, the pale color of his eyes shining in the low light. It struck her how close in shade they were to the water that pooled in front of them.

"You will have to make sure he doesn't suffer that, then. You must guide him."

"And how shall I guide him?" he asked seriously.

"Tell him never to lose his love of all things. Tell him to temper this love with the acceptance of the nature of life."

"The nature of life as
you
see it or as
I
see it?" He gave her a charming smile.

"Perhaps in essence they are both the same."

"I begin to believe that is true." His hand reached over and cupped her neck, bringing her to him for a brief kiss. He released her. "In any case, you shall be there to guide him, as well."

Green looked away at the waterfall.

Jorlan was silent for several moments.

They both knew that was unlikely.

"Why did you risk everything for me. Green? In the beginning—was it simply honor, the connection of our families?"

"I'm afraid not." She turned back to him. "I wanted you, Jorlan. I always intended to offer for you. In time, I had hoped you would come to me on your own terms. Claudine's interference forced my hand. I had to act quickly."

His fingers stroked down the side of her face. "And look where it has gotten you."

Her hand came over his. "A beautiful son and a name-bearer I am besotted with—a good bargain in any tally." She smiled faintly. "The two of you are a threat to my resolve, although I shouldn't be telling you this. You both thoroughly have me and I fear I shall spoil you both—" She stopped and swallowed the lump in her throat. She would not be spoiling anyone after the dawn came.

Jorlan squeezed her hand.

"Jorlan, please tell me what you meant earlier when you said that the arcs were a conduit for Forus."

"Forus is alive. Green."

Chapter Sixteen

"Alive... ? Of course it is alive. Every planet that supports life—"

"No. I mean that it is truly alive. The arc storms are how Forus 'connects' with itself. The ore-rocks are likened unto children, although it is an alien relationship and difficult to explain. Forus speaks to its children.
All
of its children."

Its children?
She sucked in her breath.

Green was thunderstruck by this revelation. "Are you saying the moon itself is some kind of massive life form?"

"Yes. An ancient consciousness."

"But... that is impossible... We would have detected intelligence... "

"Not this kind."

"I don't follow you."

"The methodologists consign such intelligence to the simple rhythms of nature. Even Arkeus is part of its cycle."

"Are you mad? That can't be!" And yet she remembered thinking herself that sometimes it seemed that even though the moon revolved around the planet, it was Arkeus that shadowed Forus.

He viewed her sharply. "Do you really think it so strange? How many times have you heard our people say we must live in harmony with our land? Why do you think they feel that way? Intuitively, they have
sensed
it is the right thing to do. How many stories and legends have been passed down—even from Originpoint—about such places... ?"

"They are fiction! Stories to stimulate the mind, that is all."

He shook his head. "From such stories reality comes. Isn't that the way of it?"

Horrified, she looked down at the dirt beneath her boots and suddenly lifted her feet up. "Does it think? Is it watching us now?"

Jorlan chuckled. "Nothing like that. Forus
feels.
A cognitive process that is strictly emotive. Perceptions so complex, so sophisticated, so evolved, and so removed from our own that it has a unique cognizance—if that is even what you wish to label it."

"Well, how would you label it?"

"I wouldn't. It is too hard to put into human terms; the nearest I can come is that its consciousness is visual 'awareness.' This is nothing like your emotions. It is not human emotion at all. You must not confuse it with that. It is very different. All of the life forms here, except, for the most part, our kind, are intricately connected to Forus. The blanocks. The firewings. The Klee." He raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Even your precious Kloo, though I hate to admit that."

She had noticed he said
your
emotions—not our emotions. How much of him was connected to this alien life form? From what he was saying, every life form on Forus was symbiotically connected to each other and to the moon. It disturbed her. The concept was so alien; they had lived here for over a thousand years and had been so unaware of it.

"This is difficult to comprehend. How is it that you know all of this, Jorlan?"

He stared at her, waiting for her to make the right connection.

Her lips parted as the answer came to her.
"You are a Sensitive."

"Yes. I am connected to all things here, as Forus is to me. Just like the jinto and the blanock."

That explained why the blanocks had come to her garden. To be near him. It explained so many other things as well:
I've never seen jinto before, at least not with my eyes.
She remembered his words that day by the river. Green realized there would be layers to him that only he and Forus could share.

"How exactly are you connected, Jorlan?"

"I 'hear' the pictures of our existence. I am part of all that is Forus—yet I am separate. Sometimes I can feel the currents of change."

Some Sensitives had strong magnetic abilities. It seemed Jorlan was one of them.
Maybe not just Jorlan.
She had suspicions, and she had to ask. She swallowed. "Arkeus?"

He inclined his head. "Yes, he is like me."

"Is—is this good, Jorlan?"

His fingers stroked her face tenderly. "It is very good, name-giver. Very good indeed."

"Why?"

"Forus reached out to us, but we did not hear its call. In the way of life, it adapted itself and knew we would adapt to this place over time. Eventually, some were born with a certain disposition that allowed the connection to form. So the link started, and it has continued for seven hundred years. Slowly we changed, understanding more and more. Forus does not interfere with our choices, but the ability to connect with Forus can change our lives. There is a wisdom here, a well to sense, a knowledge to plumb—if you have the ability to translate it to human terms. Such wisdom could be invaluable to us as a species."

Green thought about that. A line of worry creased her forehead. In the wrong hands, such knowledge might also prove too tempting a manipulation. Was their society in danger? As a member of the House of She-Lords, she had a responsibility to protect the colony.

Jorlan sighed. "You worry about the possible threat. I cannot lie and say it does not exist—this is why I have kept the secret to myself, as I assume others do. They probably fear for their own lives and safety should their full gifts become known. Some of us can pinpoint the best places for crops to be planted, for the digging of valuable minerals... and much more. Green. The unscrupulous could seek to exploit, others to command."

"Very true. Are you in connection with other Sensitives?"

"No. I have never even known there were others until recently."

She wondered out loud, as so many others had, why the Sensitives were all male.

"I don't know why exactly."

Something else occurred to her. "The meteor-blades! Is this the reason you are able to wield them? Is it somehow part of you being a Sensitive?"

"Partly. You see they are not really meteor-blades, Green. They are
real
razor rock."

Her eyes widened. "That cannot be! Razor rock is deadly! No one can control its response."

"I can. Razor rocks are the true children of Forus. They are not off-world as the methodologists think. They are the by-life of an arc cycle."

"Explain this arc cycle."

He closed up. "It is too complicated to put in words. Suffice it to say that ore rocks are more than they seem."

Green suspected he did not feel comfortable sharing that information just yet.

"Why did you and the Klee yell into the storm?"

He grinned. "We celebrate the static change of existence. Existence is ever changing yet ever constant. The emotive-vision is a Forus gift and brings much joy. The arcs bring a signature. It is Forus's way to... "—he hesitated to find the right way to express himself—"to depict a great love of all that is."

Green recalled what she had witnessed. The Klee, beautiful and free, lifting their hearts to sing to the wind. And Jorlan doing the same. She would never forget how his beauty rose from within him. She was so thankful she had been there to witness it—to carry such an awe-inspiring image with her forever.

Forus was more than their home; it was their shelter in the storm. It changed her thinking, somehow. The knowledge she had been given tonight could help her effect widespread changes.
If she lived past the morrow...

"Tell me more about the razor rocks—how are you able to wield them?"

"I am connected to all things here, as Forus is connected to me. I hear the pictures of our existence—as do these Klee and these firewings. I am part of every movement of this place, and yet I am separate. The meteor-blades respond to my movements; together we create the forms. The movements you call the Gle Kiang-ten. Your masters have intuited the secrets from the land but no synth blade could ever match the power of a real one. You see, the forms and the razor rocks derive from Forus itself."

"How do you do it?"

"I connect directly to the source, so I become its nature."

She viewed him thoughtfully. His words mirrored an almost identical tenet of the Gle Kiang-ten. "Can all Sensitives do this?"

"Some have the ability but... one can be more adept than another."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know. I think it has something to do with a manipulation of some kind... " He seemed genuinely puzzled.

Green bit her lip as she watched him obliquely. Manipulation...

The Santorinis.

Could it be? In trying to improve their species had Santorini accidentally created a greater, special "link" to this "alien" world that aided their survival? It was true that after Santorini's experiments the colony had begun to thrive. Still, no Santorini Sensitive had ever been discovered.

"Does this manipulation factor you speak of exist now?"

He closed his eyes a moment. "Yes."

"Is it coming from you?" She held her breath as she waited for his answer.

He closed his eyes again for a moment. "No."

"Can you tell me anything else?"

"The source of the manipulation... can
manipulate"

"Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know. Forus does not make these distinctions."

"Have you always known about Forus?"

"Yes, Green. I just did not know about being a Sensitive. When I was young, I intuited my connection. It has always been with me. I never knew one of the byproducts of it would turn out to be ultrasensitivity to physical stimulation. Thank you for pointing it out to me in such an enticing way." His teeth flashed white in the darkened night.

She smiled. "My pleasure, blaze-dragon." She glanced up at the stars. "We should be getting back. It's late."

"We have time. Let's stay awhile longer." He rolled over, placing his head on her lap.

Green ran her fingers through his silky hair. She did not want to return yet, either. He gazed up at her, pale eyes luminous against the shadow of his face. Beautiful and so very like the waters of Forus...

She shivered.
The connection.
It was there in his eyes and always had been.

Every crew member on board the
NEOFEM had
noted and felt the beauty of this place. Despite this being their adoptive home, they all loved this land. It was not always kind but it was ever complex. And its embrace was pure.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing." Her thumb rubbed a small circle on his temple. Should she tell the Septibunal what he had told her? It was her duty to inform them of this startling revelation. And yet, how would they react?

He seemed to intuit what was bothering her. His long jet lashes flickered, shading his expression for an instant. Then he glanced up at her. "Don't withdraw from me, Green," he whispered. "I could not bear it if you did."