The Visitor (4 page)

After a quarter of an hour of this strength testing, eventually he got tired and sat back down next to the standing branches he could neither break, bend or pull out. The distant odors and complaints of his own kind created an anxiety-provoking environment; he wondered to what suffering these lamentations were due. Thankfully for him, Mahisa came back into his thoughts.

*

Mahisa kept on walking along the strange tracks that the just as strange thing had left, in which the lightning-slayer had put Etos. Its incredible shape looked like a big animal with a cavity that was possible to be opened and closed. It had completely round legs that rolled to make it go forward, those that had left the imprints she was trying to follow. Hidden behind a bush, Mahisa had seen everything that happened after that lightning-slayer’s fire had struck Etos. She cried in silence and trembled with fear on seeing her lifeless companion dragged on the ground. Her feelings for him were so strong that they had given her the courage to discreetly follow the two lightning-slayers. Terror had bitten her heart when, cracking underfoot, a twig had attracted their attention. Fortunately, they did not use the things that banged and killed. They each had opened the cavity of their big animal to enter what looked like a kind of head. The two monsters had growled and their feet had rolled, one of them carrying Etos on its hollow back.

Meanwhile, Mahisa was walking along the edge of the forest, eyes glued to the ground to follow the tracks that disappeared often over long distances when the land was too dry, or when there was grass but it had risen back. In addition, it was hard to see with only moonlight. Overwhelmed by immense sadness, deep concern and extreme fatigue, she had stopped crying. And if tears no longer fell, it was only due to dehydration that lighted her gut with burning thirst.

But only one thing counted: find him and have the courage to save him to be able to tell him that he would soon be a father. She felt it in her womb for some time, but she waited to be certain before revealing it to him. Was Etos already dead? She couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Her feet were hurting and her legs were out of strength, but she couldn’t give up. The tracks were almost invisible, but an increasingly clear path appeared. In fact, there were not one, but two narrow parallel paths of hard-packed earth, separated by a strip of grass. She assumed that there was one for the monsters’ left rotating legs and one for the right rotating legs. Walking on the greenery between the two, because it was more comfortable for her aching feet, she wept again and prayed that the forest’s God would lead her to the one she loved.

*

Akkaliza passed a small bowl containing three boiled potatoes and a paper bag between the bars and said:

“
I hope you're feeling better. In any case, I’m pleased to see that you ate everything that I had left. See, I’ve brought you more.”
 

The bov grunted. In fact, he bovgrunted, which was the word used by Akkaliza and her kind to refer to these animals’ very deep cry.

“
Aha!... You’re trying to talk to me, it seems. That makes me very happy, you know! I’m sure that ultimately, we’ll get to understand each other, despite the species barrier. I know I'm much more verbose than you, but I'll let you have speaking time as soon as you decide to express yourself more. For now, I’ll fill the silence so that you get used to my voice.”
 

Holding a bar in each hand, the bov emitted a second bovgrunt. She poured water from a bottle to top off the container he used for drinking and said:

“
Wow, you'll soon be chatting much more than me! Okay... I'll have to leave you to go to school, but I’ll come back to see you at noon, don't worry. I’m studying ethology. I'll tell you more about it later. Other than that, don’t tell anyone, but I’ll let you go once you are healed, you know. I gave you a painkiller while you slept. That's why you feel less pain. But try to take it easy because as soon as it wears off, you’ll risk the return of more pain. Okay, I’m leaving. You have to eat and drink. See you later.”
 

Reluctantly, Akkaliza walked away, but it was late and she couldn't afford to miss her class. Her father would know and that would put him in a bad mood. It was bad enough that the conversation last night about his sister had put his nerves on edge! She quickened her step on the grass towards the house. As soon as she entered the living room, his mother called to her:

“
You’re not gone yet! You're going to be late!”
 

Akkaliza didn’t answer. She grabbed her bag on the sofa and crossed the floor to other side of the house. Her scooter was waiting under a lean-to.

A quarter of an hour later, Akkaliza left her vehicle under the shelter for two wheelers at the center for the study of psychology and ethology. Just as she was going to climb the stairs of the establishment, she saw her aunt approaching, with a broad smile on her ever cordial face. They kissed.

“
I’m so happy to see you," said Akkaliza, “but unfortunately, I’m very late. It’s such a pity, I so wanted to talk to you of the bov!”
 

“
I know. You'll be able to do so. I just saw your professor for today.”
 

“
Akkaron?”
 

“
Yes. He’s a member of Two One Four. So he’s a good acquaintance. I asked him if he could overlook your absence for this half-day. He assured me that there’ll be no problem, that your parents won’t know anything.”
 

Milk production was obtained from fifty thousand dairy bovs, fifty rows of one thousand. Genetically selected, crossbred and modified to produce the most milk possible, their teats were so huge that it would be difficult for them to move around without support. But anyway, they didn’t have the liberty to walk around; restrained as they were by solid individual barriers, defining their space such that they weren’t able to take a single step. Their atrophied limbs no longer able to hold them up, they were supported, leaning down forward to free the breasts, by a strap passing under their belly. Food and water arrived before them automatically and also urine and feces were automatically evacuated from the rear.

To ready their body to produce milk, they were artificially inseminated as many times as necessary. At birth, most of their offspring were killed, crushed and incorporated into the animals’ feed. For days on end, dairy bovs threw desperate bovgrunts to call their disappeared progeny, until the pain from their constantly solicited mammary glands and general suffering due to their living conditions finally make them forget.

Akkal rarely entered the gigantic building which contained on one side dairy and on the other meat producing animals. Of course, it sometimes happened, but it became less and less frequent. His staff was there to take care of everything that was not yet automated, which meant less and less things. Such as, removing newborns and replacing bovs no longer able to optimally provide milk.

In his office at the management center, located one kilometer away from his home and adjacent to the aforementioned building, Akkal spent much of his time on his busyness’ supervisory screens and on the phone. He took care of everything concerning meat and milk sales, searches for the
cheapest suppliers, for both animal feed and automation systems, relations with banks, etc. In adjacent offices, technicians were overseeing on their own screens, the proper operation of all the machinery.
 

That morning, Akkal was in bad mood. His friend Okkos’ criticism about his relationship with his sister he still weighed heavily on his heart. Moreover, yesterday’s production hadn’t been very good. That’s the least that could be sead! Milk was down four percent and meat by three percent. Fluctuations in production had serious consequences. By not meeting demand, they risked paying penalties to the major distribution centers, exceeding it wasn’t any better because the surplus was a dead loss that could hardly be recouped by making savings on operating expenses already reduced to the strict minimum. Paying back the huge investments added by the race to modernization of automation systems required ever-increasing monetary input.

But production fluctuations weren’t the only bad news for the day. He just found out that the Ralchadomac Company, his main competitor, had proposed its meat a half cent cheaper than his own to the distributors. This morning, he had received from each one of them a series of courteous but inflexible messages. They were all urging him to align himself with this new price if he wanted to keep their busyness. Selling at a one-half per cent cheaper! It was an assassination! This represented one-third of his margin! He would have to find a solution to save it, or at least to minimize its possible meltdown.

He fumed inside thinking that all these problems passed well above his sister’s rantings. With all that, had he time or opportunity to be concerned about animal welfare? Instead of making the effort to understand his situation, she found nothing better to do than mount his daughter against him with her extremist and grotesque ideas.

He abruptly stood up to scream into the hallway:

“
Meat production! Meeting in my office, right away!”
 

He could have summoned his assistants by touching a button, but he was unable to hold back this outburst.

Five of his colleagues entered.

“
No need to sit down," he told them. “since this won’t be long. If you want to help me save Natural Foods, and therefore your wages, I need to find some way to chop the cost of meat down by zero point five percent, minimum. That’s all I have to say. I need you urgently to rack your brains to find solutions to propose. As long as they haven’t been found, we’ll lose money, because I’m forced to align myself with the competition today. Okay, I’m finished! You can go now... I’m hoping that by noon, some ideas will pop out of your heads!”
 

While his colleagues began to leave the room, Akkal held one back; he was the second largest shareholder:

“
Ykkypol, wait.”
 

When they were alone together, Akkal asked:

“
What’s happening with what we talked about?”
 

“
Well... as I told you, our guy managed to get hired, but he has yet to gain access to all processes. Not easy! I think they’re a little wary.”
 

“
You truly understand that it’s urgent? Natural Foods is in real danger... “
 

“
Of course! I know! I assure you that I’m doing what I can. I feel just as concerned as you. I may own less than you in this venture, but if it sinks, me too, I’m ruined!”
 

“
Yes, Yes... I know... Excuse me. I'm exhausted!”
 

With his sister and his daughter on his back
, thought Ykkypol,
I can understand that nothing’s going easy for him.
 

He tried to change the subject:

“
By the way, have you received the email from Channel 2?”
 

“
Eh?” said Akkal.
 

“
The e-mail from Channel 2 concerning The Inquirer show.”
 

“
Ah, Yes! I saw it, but I haven’t had the time or the strength of concentration to find out what it was.”
 

“
They’re inviting us to a debate to defend our profession.”
 

“
What? But to defend against whom?”
 

“
Probably against those who criticize us. Grass eaters associations... Excuse me, I didn't mean your daughter. Really, I wanted to say...”
 

“
Yes, Yes... I get it! So what? What do I care?”
 

“
I think we have to go. To not participate would be an admission of guilt. I’m certain Ralchadomac will send someone... because for sure they must have been approached also.
 

Akkal offered only a dejected look in response.

“
I could represent us, if you prefer.”
 

“
I would like that, yes. I’ve no desire to give myself in spectacle on live TV. Imagine finding myself debating against my own sister!”
 

“
That’s what I thought too, but I hadn’t dared tell you.”
 

*

Etos felt throbbing pain coming back to his shoulder and neck. He hardly took any interest in the food: three boiled potatoes, nuts and other dried fruit. In truth, all that hadn’t even aroused his curiosity. He drank only a few sips. This lack of interest for himself was due to the fact that his mind was elsewhere, drawn to Mahisa. Alone for two hours, he felt overwhelmed with grief; he couldn’t remember ever being so sad. What had happened to her? Was she worried about him? He so hoped that she wasn’t in any danger! Oppressing anxiety overwhelmed him.

The wind wasn’t blowing any more in a direction conducive to bringing him odors from his fellow people and it made the foliage rustle loudly enough to cover the anxiety-provoking clamor. So Etos forgot them for a while.

Once again, he examined the strange standing branches that held him prisoner. They were surprisingly regular in thickness, smooth, lacking ramifications and defects. They were also cold and incredibly hard, impossible to even very slightly plant a fingernail in them. Nor were his teeth any more efficient at scoring these stems, decidedly indestructible. He undertook to examine each of them very carefully, especially at the bottom and at the top, there where they were attached to the floor or ceiling. He had to wipe his eyes several times with the palm of his hand, because sadness had clouded his vision. After completing his examination of the whole perimeter, he had to conclude that none of these branches had any connection defect. Tortured by his distress at the idea of being separated from his love, he wept warmly. Sobs shook his chest, yet he didn’t capitulate.

He was surrounded by trees and he could easily touch the end of some low branches, one was even inserted a bit between two bars. He pulled on it as strongly as he could to bring in the greatest length possible. Then using a bar as a pivot point, he pried it until it broke. After having taken a few seconds to consider the stolen object with some satisfaction, he began to dutifully remove almost all the branches, almost, because he kept only one, but this one, he made shorter. What he got was like a long rod equipped with a hook, the latter being formed by the end of the remaining branch. Reviewing once again his work, he beamed with even more displayed satisfaction, on the verge of gloating. Yet Etos hadn’t invented anything. This know-how was a cultural acquisition. His parents had taught him how to make one and they learned it themselves from their own ancestors. This convenient object was used to bring down the ends of the branches having fruit too high to reach. But, Etos was planning to use it for something else. And this, on the other hand, was indeed an invention!