by Brad Stucki
The impression that Javin had encountered these beings before was strong. Try as he might, he couldn't place where. His memory was still as surely blocked as it had ever been, and this time Javin felt it was critical he recall where he'd encountered these creatures before.
A few of those standing in front of Sauros and him were armed with a long lance, a blade at the top, which were held up, vertically, not pointing at them. Javin could tell they weren't threatening, but it was clear they wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere they didn't want them to go.
Another strange thing Javin realized was the beings . . . The Toads . . . Didn't seem overly curious as to Javin’s and Sauros' appearance. It was almost as if they had been . . . Expected? Well, stranger things had happened to Javin. After all, on Sauros' world there'd been a statue of him in a place he was sure he'd never been before. And all of this was according to the Great Plan of the Ancients, so it could very well be that they were expected. Still, the feeling of dread persisted within, and Javin continued to delve his mind, to force a memory, any memory, to seep out. It wasn't working.
Then two of the Toads glided forward. They weren't holding lances. They hovered in front of Javin and Sauros then placed their left hands over their breast and raised their right hands up, palms forward to show they were empty. It was a clear gesture of peace. Not only that, they could ‘feel’ the meaning behind it, as clear as if they’d said, “We greet you in peace.”
Javin and Sauros repeated the gesture back and Sauros tried his smile. Javin would have laughed aloud if he could have with water flowing through his mouth and neck.
Then the Toads directly in front of them stood aside and gestured for Javin and Sauros to proceed with them. They swam forward and the others arrayed themselves around them as a guard. Javin wondered whether it was an honor guard or a prisoner guard. He guessed they'd find out. Javin was getting used to this type of reception.
Chapter 12
The swim to the first dome was uneventful. Javin was surprised at its immense size the closer they got. Each of the 5 domes was large enough to easily encapsulate a whole community. They were interconnected with opaque glowing tubes obviously allowing travel between.
They arrived at the base of the nearest dome right in the area they had seen activity from the sea cliff above. Up against the dome, there was a bulbous protrusion large enough to hold their entire contingent of seven beings. The guards had still not shown any hostility, nor did they appear nervous at the new creatures they had encountered. Still, a nagging dread ached within Javin. These Toads – he surely had encountered them before. Yet he knew he hadn’t or at least didn’t remember that he had. His frustration at this memory block rose again. There had to be a way to get at those memories. Javin felt many things would become evident if he could.
The group stopped in front of the bulbous chamber. The Toad who appeared to be leader reached out his webbed hand and palmed a circular bump at the side of what evidently was a doorway. It opened wide and he gestured Javin and Sauros to precede them into the chamber. They did so, followed by their contingent of guards. On the inside, the leader palmed a similar circular protrusion and the door swung shut.
Javin heard and felt pumps activating. Soon he could tell the water level in their chamber was lowering. It’s an airlock, Javin thought, realizing his subsumed memories of phrases and concepts were surfacing again at need. He knew what an airlock was, understood the name, but had no frame of reference via any memories. He shook his head as the water level continued to lower and they all settled to the floor instead of floating in the water. It was then Javin could discern the relative height of the toads he was surrounded by. Sauros was tall, muscular and big. These toads were all easily his height, a couple even taller, yet they were slender with ropy, sinuous muscles easily seen under their green mottled skin.
The water was below Javin’s chin; he coughed the remaining water from his throat. The valve opened and he resumed breathing as had all his companions. It was a strange sight and for a brief moment, Javin wondered whether he and Sauros would be able to breathe the atmosphere. He quickly reasoned if he could breathe the atmosphere above, chances are it was a same atmosphere below.
The door to the airlocks slid open. The leader preceded them out. One of the guards gestured for Sauros and Javin to precede them. Javin nodded and stepped through the doorway. He was amazed at the site that met his eyes. He stepped out into a broad expansive avenue with buildings on either side all formed out of the same opaque material as the dome. The buildings were multi-storied of varying sizes with doors and window openings on the lower floors and window openings on upper floors.
Some buildings were broad and huge. Others narrow, yet taller, giving Javin the impression of a strange angular metropolis; a city skyline framed under the immense canopy of the dome overhead. The whole scene was lit with enormous incandescent lights affixed to the top of the dome at regular intervals beginning approximately three quarters of the way up, providing enough light as if at noon day on a cloudless sky.
Javin was standing there agape as Sauros stood beside him. He could feel Sauros’ wonder. Javin knew he had seen similar structures made out of concrete and steel with sharp corners and edges from his blocked memories, no doubt.
These buildings appeared as if molded and formed prior to being solidified into a hardened state. Javin felt a touch on his arm and only then noticed the leader was beckoning him to follow. There wasn’t a word spoken and Javin began to wonder if they had a spoken language. Given the shape of their heads and mouths, their very broad mouths, Javin wondered whether Javin and Sauros would be able to speak the language if there were. The leader again beckoned and Javin began to follow.
As they moved down the broad avenue, which seemed to meander between all the buildings, large and small, Javin wondered if there was any auto transportation.
Now why did I think that? Javin had the image of automobiles coming to his mind. Metal objects with wheels powered with combustion engines, loud and smelly. No, Javin thought within a dome such as this, air quality would quickly go sour with combustion automobiles. If there were means of transport, Javin would be eager to see what it was.
They were moving toward the center of the dome. It was quite a walk. Javin saw others of this species wandering along the pathways intersecting theirs. They would stop and stare and point gesturing to one another. Still no words were spoken.
Javin also remarked at the sinuous gait of the Toads as they moved. Their large webbed feet made them walk as if in a rocking motion as they went from heel to a long, springy step off their toes. Yet they appeared graceful as their long arms and webbed hands swayed back and forth helping them maintain balance and grace. Javin also had the impression they would be formidable fighters, moving quickly and agilely, being able to move in large bounds from side-to-side or forward and back. Javin wondered why he continued to consider them enemies when they had given no evidence of being hostile towards he or Sauros.
Soon they were standing in front of the largest and tallest of the buildings whose top and singular spire reached nearly to the top of the dome a great distance above. Javin had to squint to see the top against the glare of the incandescent lighting across the dome ceiling. It was clear they had reached their destination. They stood in a broad plaza in front of the building, the doorway wide enough to admit 10 to 12 across easily. There were no doors. The windows at each level of the tower were open with no windows. Many Toads casting curious glances their way were coming and going as if intent on urgent business. Here must be the hub of their city.
The party moved inside the building. The main floor was an open lobby. The Toads moving around were all dressed similarly, meaning they weren’t dressed except for a pair of black or dark briefs of varying shades and a belt holding an assortment of items and tools – apparently the necessities of these beings.
The Toads were going about various duties and activities, reminding Javin of an image which sprang to his mind
-- an office building, people going about their work. And again, there was curiosity from the milling Toads, but no shock or surprise at Javin’s or Sauros’ appearance.
The leader continued forward to the center of the Atrium where a giant column stood with a doorway. An ‘elevator’. The word came into Javin’s mind along with its purpose and image. Of course, Javin thought. How else would they get to the higher levels.
The leader touched a button on the wall beside the doorway, which slid open. They all moved inside the elevator and Javin wasn’t surprised by the assortment of buttons with hieroglyphics above each one. Floor numbers, Javin surmised. Then something clicked in his eyes and his mind. They were numbers and Javin could understand them.
He looked at Sauros. Sauros stared back, and through the bond Javin could tell the same realization had happened to him. “Looks like the adjustment is complete,” Javin said in Sauros’ language.
These were the first words which had been spoken since Javin and Sauros entered the water. The Toads jolted at the sound of Javin’s voice. Clearly they couldn’t understand Sauros’ language.
Javin was a bit surprised. Things had been so silent Javin had wondered if the Toads could even hear. Apparently they could.
At that point the door opened, a blinking light above the doorway indicating they had arrived at their desired floor. Javin looked at the readout. It was the highest number he’d read. So, they were on the top floor, Javin thought. At least they weren’t being taken to the dungeon as they had before on two previous worlds.
They were ushered down a hallway. Again, Toads moved up and down the hallway on assigned tasks. They passed by doorways, most of which were open, and they could see inside to open windows at irregular intervals.
Offices, Javin thought. These people don’t appear to be much different than us. Then he looked at Sauros. Well, at least, not much different than me. Javin was clearly relating to his own culture, but with his blocked memories, he didn’t know how he knew it. He just did. Javin smiled at Sauros. He could tell their bond was still functioning and Sauros was trying to follow his thoughts. Sauros grimaced back. His smile was getting better, but still quite menacing with the upper and lower pointed fangs Sauros displayed each time he grinned.
They turned into a large room. A broad window covered most of the outside wall of the room, which was nearly 20 paces long. The window was open to the air. There was no need of any glass as the dome prevented any wind from stirring. It was easy to see they were near the dome’s roof.
The building’s inside had been lit by smaller incandescent lights interspersed on the walls or ceiling at different intervals according to need and design. They were covered with varying acrylic coverings very similar in color and make as the dome overhead. And they were close enough they could see the ceiling of the dome was also covered with the incandescent lights evenly spaced on the underside of the dome providing the light and glow they’d seen from the outside. Javin wondered if they ever turned them off to simulate night?
A large oval table took up the bulk of the room, surrounded by a number of padded stools that had the appearance of . . . a mushroom? They were padded and domed at the top with a circular shaft from the underside of the dome to the floor with a round, flat, what looked to be circular acrylic base.
Interspersed around the room were additional stools, smaller tables with flower arrangements and what appeared to be other decorative art adorning the walls. Javin understood the aesthetics of the art but didn’t recognize any of the shapes or objects. There weren’t any portraits hanging on the walls.
The leader gestured for Javin and Sauros to take a seat near the head of the table while the leader took the seat at the head. Still not a word had been spoken. The leader then gestured for all but two of the guards to leave – including the two holding the lances.
Javin remained silent as he took a seat. It wasn’t uncomfortable yet the stool was situated high enough his toes barely reached the floor. It made him feel like a child sitting on an oversized chair. Clearly the proportions were set for the Toads. Sauros didn’t have the same problem as he sat and stared at their host.
Their host stared back.
Chapter 13
Javin looked more carefully at his apparent host. He and the guards remaining in the room were still silent, staring solemnly at Javin and Sauros. Those with lances had been dismissed, yet looking carefully at the belts of those remaining, Javin noted each sported a long knife similar to the ones he and Sauros wore on their belts.
Again, curiously, they hadn’t been asked to remove their weapons. He hoped it was continued confirmation they weren’t prisoners. The silence was unnerving though.
“Are we all okay?” Javin asked. He spoke in Sauros’ tongue. He knew they probably wouldn’t understand, yet Javin felt the need to break the silence. The sound of his voice jolted his host, and the remaining guards visibly tensed. Their host cocked his head as if surprised at hearing the noise. His eyes narrowed and the large irises and pupil slits, a golden brown surrounding a darker vertical gash seemed to look agitated.
Why would he be agitated he spoke? Javin wondered. Yet that was the impression Javin received. Through his contact with Sauros he could tell Sauros had received the same impression.
Their host was a large specimen of the Toad race from what Javin had observed so far, powerfully built on a slender frame. Javin looked more particularly at his head and face sitting atop a very stout neck. The head was widely oval, again resembling a . . . toad. On the ridges above his eyes were two bony knobs almost like horns yet rounded and slightly lighter in color.
Javin saw his host staring back. The impression came, ‘male’. The knobs symbolized masculinity. He noted the Toad didn’t seem to be bothered by Javin’s appraisal and seemed the impression of explanation had actually come back from the Toad.
Slowly the Toad nodded almost imperceptibly, but as if agreeing, yes, it was coming from him.
Is this how these beings communicate? Javin wondered. He felt Sauros was with him in that question. Javin looked around at the other Toads in the room. They each had the same protrusions above their eye ridges, some more pronounced.
He stared back at his host who nodded again, this time more directly. Javin thought he would experiment and pointed to himself. Said out loud, “Human”. Then pointed to Sauros. “Lion-man.”
The being in front of him stared then nodded, pointed to his own breast and no sound came, but there was an ‘impression,’ a gathering of Toads being in the water, at the surface, and staring up at the sky. The sun was brilliant above.
The image was vivid as it came into Javin’s mind and, surprisingly, into his heart. “People of the water and sky,” Javin said aloud to himself, as if to clarify the image he’d received.
The Toad nodded, confirming. Javin was amazed. This was similar to the way he and Sauros could communicate with one another without speaking, but they had the Crystals in their breasts which helped with that.
Why did they communicate that way? Javin wondered. He stared back at the Toad sitting at the head of the table. He was staring intently at Javin, who raised his eyebrows in question, testing to see if their host had 'heard' his musing.
Again his host's eyes were fixed on Javin. Instead of just an image, this time his host opened his mouth and made a guttural sound. The impression which came along with the sound was his race, his "People of the Water and Sky" could make noises, but it was so inefficient, and they only made noises when they were in distress, really angry or expressing some other strong emotion.
Then another impression followed, an image, heightened by slight gestures from the host pointing upward, indicating sky and breathing air, then under the water again, breathing water where noise was muffled, and they couldn't really speak out loud. So instead, this form of speech had evolved.
It was communication through thoughts, impressions, gestures and feelings. Something which could be done in the air and in the water -- much as he
and Sauros had done since entering the water themselves.
"Intriguing," Javin said aloud in Sauros' tongue, and nodded, the gesture in deference to the form of Toad communication.
"I understand as well," Sauros said. "I followed all of what you . . . communicated."
Then it occurred to Javin that maybe the term "Toad" was disrespectful to their hosts. He realized his hosts likely had picked up on his feeling of dread, and of the term, Toad along with the image which had formed in his mind.
Javin put a hand over his heart and bowed his head in apology. Then he spoke out loud to help focus his thoughts, also so Sauros would follow him more easily. He knew Sauros had been following their previous communications but wanted to make sure. it was still new to each of them, after all.
"I'm sorry for any offense I may have given regarding my reference to your noble race. We have a small creature on my world which has slight resemblance to you. They are called toads. That is where the word and image comes from."
Javin hesitated a moment, wondering if he should continue, then realized he needed to, since these beings were so perceptive, they certainly would have picked up on his unease at their appearance.
"I also apologize for my unease in being with you. I feel like I have encountered your race before, but I have no recollection of it. Still, it has made me . . . Apprehensive. For this I am sorry. I have no explanation for it."
Javin needed to have another frame of reference for these people. Obviously, they didn't have proper names, since they didn't speak aloud. Or at least his host had not given him a proper name.
It was then Javin noted a slight gesture from his host. He was pointing to himself. An impression came that Javin struggled to form into mental words. "I am me." Very simple, and with it came the image of a strong, male, leader and a 'feeling' of a person, very intimate and complete.