Johann had already reached one conclusion. The material in those mudpots must be very important to the nepps. They certainly would not travel such a long distance without some compelling reason. And judging from the large number of tracks that he had seen around the two mudpots, this gathering of the hot brown muck involved a large number of the members of their colony
He decided that the only way he could possibly obtain an overview of where he now was, and perhaps gain some insight into where the nepps he had been following had gone, was to climb a portion of what Johann was certain was the beginning of the western mountains. It took him the rest of the day, however, to find a decent path, beside a creek that formed a canyon between tall rock formations on either side. He had no view at all of the great plateau until after he cut through a side canyon, scrambled up a boulder field, and then worked his way back to an overlook that was at least two hundred meters above the plateau. By this time it was already dark and Johann was thoroughly exhausted and disappointed. He reminded himself as he fell asleep that he had already spent three days on this trek and still had no information of any worth.
THE NEXT MORNING, however, provided a huge bonanza for Johann. From his overlook he could see the entire plateau and even the regions beyond, where the geysers and mudpots were located. Below him to his right, in an area Johann estimated to be at least five kilometers square, was the home colony of the nepps. They lived in hundreds of dirt mounds and underground warrens, like prairie dogs on Earth, and could be seen either scampering about their homes, conversing in groups of three or four, or performing disparate tasks among an orderly set of rows and columns contained by tall stalks of what appeared to be a domesticated plant.
To the left of the colony, on the other side of a small, dense grove, was a large lake at the foot of the mountains. To Johann’s astonishment, this lake was absolutely teeming with swimming nepps. To verify that what he was seeing was correct, Johann passed around the side of a small outcropping and found a second overlook just above this lake. There were indeed hundreds, perhaps even a thousand, nepps swimming laps below him. What’s more, unless Johann was completely misinterpreting what he was seeing, there seemed to be dozens of supervising nepps around the lake, providing either encouragement or instructions to the swimmers.
What in the world is going on here? Johann asked himself. Why are all these creatures swimming laps? Is it some rite of their species? Or possibly one of the keys I’m supposed to find?
Johann stayed in the mountains above the nepp colony the entire day. He moved back and forth between the two separate overlooks, observing the behavior below and trying without success to draw conclusions about what, if anything, it all meant. As far as he could tell, the nepps were either oblivious to his presence or did not care that he was watching them.
Several things that Johann saw struck him as peculiar and unlike anything he had ever witnessed in another biological species at the development level of the nepps. First, they were exceedingly orderly. Each individual apparently had a specific task or assignment throughout the day. At two different times during the day, the lake emptied of swimmers and those nepps who had been swimming laps returned to the central plaza in the colony for a meal served from huge pots to the whole group standing in three long queues. Twenty minutes later, after the meal had been completed, another group of nepps filled the lake and was swimming back and forth under the guidance of the same group of nepps who had overseen the earlier swimmers. The earlier groups that had been swimming had, by this time, either returned to household chores in the colony, or were working among the tall stalks in the fields.
After the sunset, Johann could no longer follow any of the activity in the nepp colony below him. He found a comfortable spot on the overlook and stretched out on his sleeping mat. Observe the nepps, he remembered the white Beatrice saying,for in their behavior lie the clues to your safety.
And what have I observed so far? Johann asked himself before falling asleep. That they spend a lot of time swimming.
That they have at least one domesticated plant. That they travel a great distance to gather a hot brown muck. That they are orderly. But what this means in terms of our safety and survival is a mystery to me.
FIVE
JOHANN AWOKE IN the middle of the night and realized he had still established no rationale for why the nepps collected the material from the mudpots. In fact, at no time while he had been watching them had he even seen any nepps carrying the containers containing the muck. The previous day he had located an accessible shelf, in altitude halfway between his overlook and the colony, that would afford him a much better view of the nepps. He had been reluctant to drop down to the shelf during the day, however, for he felt certain that he would be seen by the animals and he had no idea how they would react to his presence.
There was ample moonlight a couple of hours before dawn for Johann to make a safe descent to the shelf From there he could see the silhouettes of six groups of three nepps each, gathered around a leader nepp between the edge of the fields and the beginning of the mounds. The whole group of nepps were standing around a huge circular pot, mostly buried in the ground, that Johann had somehow not seen the previous day. After some chatter, the trios of nepps dispersed with their crude spoons and containers, presumably heading for the geyser region.
Ten or fifteen minutes later, after a specific call from the leader nepp who had been in the vicinity the entire time, a dozen or so additional animals came out of their mounds and stopped in an open work area a few meters to the side of the pot. They began to tear off the bottom stalks of the domesticated plant (Johann had already noticed the day before that the nepps ate only the flowery top part of the plant), clean out its insides, and grind the material into powder with stones. From time to time the leader nepp would inspect each of their efforts.
Not long after dawn, the first group of nepps returned with containers of the brown muck, into which the powder was mixed. Johann, now concerned about being seen, climbed carefully back to his overlook while still watching the activity Altogether, the morning’s effort had yielded five muck containers now thoroughly mixed with stalk powder. The leader nepp tested each mixture carefully, even placing a small portion on its bizarre narrow tongue, and then selected two of the containers to remain on the table in the work area. The other three were unceremoniously dumped into the buried circular pot.
The nepp colony was now awakening. Heads were popping out of holes, juveniles were scurrying about like puppies, morning conversations were under way Slowly but surely all the nepps were moving in the direction of the central plaza where the vast urns containing breakfast were being filled with food that had been in preparation for half an hour.
Johann, meanwhile, kept a close watch on the nepp who had supervised the predawn activities. This nepp was one of the first to eat breakfast, after which it selected eight others, all of the black-and-white variety who were larger than the solid-colored animals, and led them over to the worktable area where the two chosen containers were sitting.
While this nepp leader was chattering to its colleagues, the rest of the colony started another ordinary day, one third of the animals heading for the lake to swim, another third going to work in the fields, and the final third returning to the mounds and warrens, probably for domestic duties. The eight black-and-white nepps who had been selected at breakfast, however, walked around the outside of the colony, two pairs of them carrying one container each, the other four with small bags on their backs that were tied around their necks, and headed in the direction of the canyon creek that Johann had followed on his way to the overlook.
Johann scrambled back toward the canyons, certain that whatever this special group of nepps was about to do was of major significance. Fortunately, he arrived at the top of the side canyon just as the eight nepps had turned into it. He followed them from above for about a kilometer, until they disappeared into a group of thick bushes on the shores of the creek. For an hour there was no movemen
t. From Johann’s vantage point he could see the entire canyon floor, so there was no doubt that the nepps were still in the bushes. But what were they doing there?
In the middle of the morning Johann heard a familiar sound just beneath him, on his side of the canyon. It was the song with two related variations, and it kept repeating methodically, first one version and then the other, just as it had done a few days before. Johann searched below him until he spotted the pair of ackyongs. Soon a second pair could be heard, then a third. Moving carefully along his ridge, Johann found a spot where he could see the rock overhang that had been directly beneath him. Thirty or more ackyong shells were lined up in a row against the wall. Many of their occupants, however, if Johann’s surmise was correct, were now down in the sun on the floor of the canyon, performing their mating dances.
Johann strained his eyes and found seven or eight pairs of ackyongs in the area around the creek, far from their shells under the overhang. The superposition of all their sounds created a gentle symphony far more pleasing than any of their individual songs, and Johann found himself becoming sleepy Before he closed his eyes, however, he observed that the bushes were stirring and that all the nepps had now gathered at one edge.
Suddenly the nepps all burst from the bushes with incredible speed, even the ones carrying the containers. They raced up the slopes toward the rock overhang where all the ackyong shells were located. The nepps dipped their paws in the hot muck and spread it rapidly around the edges where the two halves of the ackyong shells were joined. Slowly, the shells began to release and open. Other nepps then forced themselves into the shell cracks and pried the shells far enough open that a companion could see inside.
They moved from shell to shell with amazing alacrity. Somehow they knew which shells did not contain a host ackyong. Three nepps entered each of the shells of interest, emerging a few seconds later with an ackyong egg that was immediately placed in one of the bags. Once a bag was full, one of the black-and-white nepps raced away, down the slope with the bag on its back and tied around its neck, headed for the nepp colony.
After three eggs had been removed, the symphony coming from the ackyongs on the sunny canyon floor abruptly changed to the two-beat alarm sound. The nepp thieves had been discovered and the ackyongs were clambering up the slope to confront their adversaries. One bright yellow ackyong was blocking the escape path of a nepp carrying a particularly large egg. Without any hesitation, two of the other nepps screamed ferociously and hurtled headlong into the yellow ackyong, diverting it long enough that the egg-carrying nepp was able to run away. The ensuing battle was short. The surprisingly agile ackyong inserted its formidable stinger in first one nepp, then the other, killing them both instantly
Three nepps had escaped with eggs, two had been killed, and the remaining three were exposed and surrounded by the angry ackyongs returning to protect their shells. Each nepp now ran in a different direction. Johann could no longer follow all the action on the canyon floor. He heard one animal wail of pain and then, about five minutes later, the double-beat alarm of the ackyongs ceased.
Johann returned to his overlook in a state of confusion. The midday meal at the nepp colony had just concluded, and the normal groups were headed for the lake, the fields, and the mounds. The nepp leader who had organized the expedition was nowhere in sight and there was no sign of the ackyong eggs that had presumably been brought back to the colony.
Johann sat on a fiat rock and ate his lunch. His frustration was building. He was observing the nepps, as the white Beatrice had instructed, but nothing he had yet seen was giving him any clues about any safety precautions to be taken on double full moon night.
BEFORE DAWN THE next morning Johann was again down on the shelf below his overlook. The same nepp leader met again with six threesomes who were dispatched to bring back the brown material from the distant mudpots. Again, after ground powder was mixed into the muck, a group of eight black-and-white nepps, two pairs carrying containers and the other four with bags tied around their necks, scampered away from the colony. But this time the group went in another direction, away from Johann. He watched them until they disappeared down a distant slope.
Johann remained on his overlook the entire morning, carefully following the movement of the nepp leader who seemed to be organizing all the critical activities. A few minutes before the middle of the day two nepps carrying ackyong eggs in their bags returned to the colony. The nepp leader received a brief report and then ushered the returnees into the grove that was between the mounds and the lake. The three emerged a few minutes later, with neither bags nor eggs, and were soon joined by another pair of black-and-white nepps, one clearly injured, who probably had taken part in the morning expedition. After another short conversation, the leader nepp crossed over to one of the larger mounds in the colony and entered. Johann did not see the leader again during the day.
As night fell, Johann concluded that he had learned as much as he could from his observations on the overlook. So far, there had been no evidence of any nepp activity at night, at least not until the predawn hours, and the creatures were apparently not concerned about security, for Johann had seen no sentinels posted while everyone was sleeping. He thought that there was a good chance that he could pass through their colony undetected and might discover something that had thus far escaped his notice.
The descent from his overlook through the canyon to the nepp colony was made much easier by the brilliant moonlight. At one point Johann stopped, looking up, and wondered what kind of terror the double moon night might bring that required all the precautions the white Beatrice had mentioned. For a moment, he wondered if it was possible that all his visits from her could really be hallucinations of some kind. But no, he told himself, that cannot be possible. The six months Maria and I spent in Whiteland were absolutely real.
He entered the nepp colony undisturbed. He walked past the mounds, the central plaza, and along the path toward the lake. Johann then returned and examined the fields and the work area where each of the morning expeditions had been organized. He saw nothing new.
Next he decided to follow the path that entered the grove adjacent to the colony That was where he had seen the nepp leader take the ackyong eggs. Thirty meters into the trees he heard an animal sound that he did not recognize, a rhythmic whistling occurring about twenty times a minute. At one place on the path the moonlight split through the trees and Johann could see both a small fenced compound in front of him and a sentry, asleep and snoring just to the side of the door.
The door swung open noiselessly and Johann entered the dim compound. He was immediately assaulted by an overpoweringly foul odor, a stench that smelled like a combination of rotten food and feces. Suppressing his gag reflex, Johann surveyed the area. Against the fence on the left were crude stacked shelves, broken into perhaps a hundred individual compartments by vertical dividers. Roughly half these compartments contained ackyong eggs.
On Johann’s right was a large basin. A broken ackyong egg was lying in the basin, surrounded by a colorless fluid that Johann suspected was the source of the powerful stench. He approached the basin and put one finger barely into the fluid. Johann cautiously raised the finger to his nose. The smell was so terrible that he immediately vomited. He then glanced around quickly to see if he had disturbed the sleeping sentry. He had not. The nepp was still snoring.
At the back of the compound was a set of vats of different sizes. All but one was empty. Johann peered into the occupied vat, which was as tall as his waist, and saw what appeared to be hundreds of tennis balls of different colors, each with a dozen or so tiny spikes growing out of its cover. Curious, Johann reached down and picked one up. One of the spikes extended into his hand, stinging him, and he dropped the living ball back into the vat. The creature made a sound like birtle and within a few seconds the entire vat was teeming with moving, spiked tennis balls all saying birtle.
The noise was sufficient to wake the snoring nepp, but Johann had already raced
by the creature before it had gathered enough of its wits to scream. Johann had already planned his escape route. He turned left, out of the colony, at a full gallop and did not stop until he was halfway to the periodic geyser.
THE GROUP HAD sat quietly, only occasionally asking questions of clarification, during the hour that Johann had related his experiences during his absence from the village. Siegfried, Vivien, and Jomo had followed the story with the most interest. Baby Kwame had been something of a distraction and at different times both Keiko and Satoko had left the group with the child to keep him from disturbing the others.
“So what have you concluded from all your observations?” Ravi asked when Johann was finished.
“Very little, I’m afraid,” Johann said. “The nepps are a fascinating species, and if I were a biologist I would have hundreds of questions that I would want to answer. But if what I have seen was supposed to help us prepare for the ‘extreme danger’ of double full moon night, then my trip was a failure.”
“That’s only forty more days, isn’t it?” Jomo asked. Earlier Johann and he had agreed that the work on the harvest was now basically complete and that sometime in the next few days Siegfried would accompany Jomo, his family, and a large quantity of food back across Black Rock to the East Village.
“Forty-two to be exact,” Johann replied.
“That doesn’t give us much time,” Jomo commented, “especially if any of our preparations require much planning”
“There were two instructions that Beatrice gave you, weren’t there, Johann?” Vivien said. “Observe the nepps and something else about land you’ve never walked on.”
“No land upon which any of you have ever walked is safe,” Johann repeated from memory.
“If we take that statement literally,” Vivien said, “then it would suggest that we’re all supposed to move up into the western mountains—at one time or another one of us has explored virtually every other accessible region, especially now that you have been in the area around the nepp colony.”
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