Mirage

by Perry Brass

  I told him that I never had.

  "Perfectly reasonable. They only come out at night, on the Three, the Six, and the Eight Moons. They are attracted to us, certain brothers of certain enclaves. Their eyes are blue, too."

  "I would like to see one," I said.

  "Perhaps you will," Woosh said and smiled, then added, "but then again, you may not. You see, our enclave and its monkeys are special. And some of us, I'm afraid, are not welcome everyplace."

  "You are always welcome here," Aawkwa said.

  "Thank you," Woosh said, graciously. I looked at Greeland. He winked his eye and smiled.

  "We must tell him," Greeland said.

  "Tell me what?" I asked.

  "That I knew to come," Woosh explained. He pointed to a place next to him. "Come. Sit with us." I did, and as I sat closer, I saw that his eyes were blue. And very dark, the blue of mountains at midnight.

  "You see," Woosh explained, "at the Blue Monkeys, we practice the other arts. Magic, some brothers call it. They are frightened; there is much to be frightened of. But we use our skills wisely. I knew Greeland was in trouble, even though your enclave is three days' journey from ours."

  I was dumbfounded. "How did you get here?"

  "Very simple."

  "Simple, my foot!" Aawkwa said. "Let us go away. This is too dangerous." There were three old men sleeping that night in the old men's hut. Usually they slept at home, but occasionally one had a fight with his "other half," or they got drunk on berry wine and could not leave.

  "Perhaps for this purpose the cave is called for," Aawkwa whispered. He got up and motioned with his hand to follow him. We left the large elders' hut together, without disturbing the old ones who snored in the back.

  I believed I knew which cave he was talking about. Greeland had once taken me to its mouth. The cave, he said, was dangerous; we would not go in that day. But I remembered that day specifically. It was three Ten Moons ago. He gave me a garland of fragrant white flowers and put it around my neck and kissed me. I had been promised to him, but was too young to take. So we did not stay in the depths of the forest alone, but only walked together, or sat in cool open spaces, and he talked some—about hunting and the life he wanted us to have. Mostly, I chattered away with all my young questions. I thought he was old and not very interesting.

  It was not a short walk. The path was dark, winding, and crowded with trees. Sometimes we had to pass over rocks or around steep hills. One time we crossed a ravine with only an old log as a bridge. The walk might have taken three hours. I noticed how much energy Woosh had, even though he was bent over and was the oldest man I'd ever seen. He kept up well with me, though honestly I did not walk fast. But I was thinking hard, and in my mind questioning what was going on.

  A line of clouds had covered the three new Moons. But by the time we got to the cave, the clouds had disappeared and the Moons revealed themselves boldly in the sky. Just before the last stretch of the path, Woosh said to look up in the tree above.

  I did. The chalk-pale line of a monkey's tail jumped from branch to branch. "Be very still," Woosh ordered, and put his hand to my lips.

  I held my breath, as I'm sure Greeland and Aawkwa did. The creature edged closer to us. His long, thin fingers and feet delicately grasped each waving branch like the stem of a parasol. The branches stopped moving, and he sat watching us. The fine fur on his ears and chest caught the beams from the Moons. He was blue.

  "Good-by, friend!" Woosh said, and the monkey disappeared. "See! The evenings of the Three Moons are always special to us!"

  In the cave, we lit a small fire of scrubby branches, and Woosh talked. "You probably would like to know how I got here so fast, and how I knew of your troubles. Correct?"

  I nodded my head. Actually, I wanted to know how the monkey appeared, but there were many questions to ask.

  "First," Woosh explained, "let me say that I have been expecting something like this to happen for a long time."

  Greeland smiled. "Now it has," he said.

  "Yes, my brother. Unfortunately. But it means that you and your promised one will leave here the way that I came. And, you will know even more than I do."

  "More?" I couldn't believe his words.

  "Yes. And you, Enkidu, will not give up your Egg. Nor will Greeland die."

  "Do you know how dangerous this is?" Aawkwa said. "No one has ever challenged the priestesses before. Aren't we disturbing the balance of Ki?"

  Woosh sighed. "Aawkwa, I have come to restore that balance. The Off-Sex Court has no regard for it, that is certain. Even at our distant enclave, we have felt danger from them for Moons now." He clenched his old fists. "This will challenge the priestesses, but the balance cannot be served—ever—by having Greeland torn from Enkidu. Nor by having Enkidu's Egg robbed for a crime he did not commit. Is that not so?"

  Greeland shut his eyes to hold back his tears. "Yes, it is. What happened was in no way his fault."

  Aawkwa nodded his head. "You are right," he said to Woosh. "Even I could understand their separation, if the Sisters ordered it. But not having his Egg removed. It pained me as much as it did Greeland. Still, no one has done this before."

  Woosh laughed. It was not true, he told us. Over the years, other brothers had disappeared. There were legends about them. They were gone, but their bodies had remained. Missing the third Egg.

  I didn't understand. "Missing the Egg?"

  "Yes," Woosh said. "They take the Egg with them. They become the third Egg. And when they arrive at this place only some of us know—a place marked by a vision only a few of us will ever have—the third Egg is the single part of them that remains."

  His words suddenly touched me. A vision ... few of us will ever have ? He looked me straight in the eyes, and his inky blue eyes looked as dark and void as the tunnel of space in my vision.

  I knew then that Woosh saw I'd had such a vision. I couldn't hide it. I smiled shyly and he returned my smile.

  Greeland spoke: "Woosh explained it to me. He is talking about thought projection. Have you ever heard of it?" I told him I hadn't. "You know there are rays that come in from space. Like star rays, or moon rays. These rays contain something called 'light energy.' They are evidence of it; they tell us that the energy is there. Just as the third Egg is a manifestation of our own energy."

  "A man-infestation?" I had no idea what he was talking about. It all went right over my head. The third Egg seemed only a part of me, even though I knew it was a special part.

  Aawkwa bent his old head. "The third ball is like a charge, right? Even I am aware of that. There are charges that come from lightning; is that not correct, Woosh?"

  Woosh nodded his head thoughtfully. "You have the basic idea, Aawkwa. Lightning is a charge. And so is that thing—electricity, it is called—that comes when you rub a piece of fur. It produces a shock; sometimes even sparks come out. The third Egg is an even more powerful center of this charge. Unbelievably powerful."

  Aawkwa silently nodded his head.

  "Oh," I said, suddenly putting some of it together. Lightning? Sparks? I felt my third testicle shifting in me, and remembered those stormy nights or spells of dry suffocating weather, when I felt a surge of energy directly emanating from it. I couldn't sleep. My fathers would kneel over my sleeping mat, and tell me not to worry; it was all right. "It's that stage, he's in," Wilf once said, and winked his eye. "We'll thank the Goddess when he grows out of it," Fel added.

  Woosh got up and began to walk excitedly around the cave. "We are talking now about thought energy, Enkidu," he said. "You see, thought contains electrical forces on a very weak level. But the third Egg—the center of our emotions—is a storehouse of these forces. It is only a matter of releasing the energy within it. Most of us are aware, somewhat, of the power of our seed, but we know little about the full force of the Egg. Or how our seed processes the movement of this thought energy, which you may call extremely condensed knowledge, directly from the Egg. Do you understand what I'm talking abo
ut?"

  I told him I didn't.

  "I'm sorry, Enkidu," Woosh said. "Let me put it simply: we're talking about using this thought energy. Concentrating it. Watch this."

  Abruptly, so quickly I could not remember his leaving, Woosh disappeared. I looked at Greeland and Aawkwa, and they nodded their heads, and then shrugged their shoulders.

  Chapter Six

  The blackness, out of the reach of the firelight, seemed even spookier then. Dense and silent. I wondered where he was hiding. At last, from the depths of the cave, we heard a deep voice ricocheting through its stone reaches. "Enkidu!—Enkidu!—Enkidu!—Enkidu!"

  I smiled. "Just an echo." I was determined to dismiss everything unnatural.

  Aawkwa looked at me, and winked. "Watch this," he said.

  The rumbling voice that came from the depths of the cave drew closer. Higher and louder. Then, just as suddenly, it trailed off—much weaker—like it was coming from outside the mouth of the cavern. He must have disappeared, I thought, and found another opening somewhere at the bottom of the cave.

  "He's not outside now," Aawkwa said. "If that's what you're thinking."

  Greeland looked pleased. Like he was holding back a secret from me. "He's right here. I can tell it."

  "You're very right," Woosh announced to Greeland.

  He materialized in front of us.

  At first, it was like a stronger concentration of light, like the reflection from the point of a needle, had marked the place next to where Greeland sat cross-legged on the cave floor. Then the voice followed. And then the old man. He seemed so natural about it, like he played these tricks all the time. In his hand was Greeland's headband of shiny black feathers, tipped with bits of white monkey fur.

  "I thought you might want to see this. It's from Greeland's hut."

  Greeland took the headband and placed it on his head. He nodded knowingly at Woosh. His right hand stroked his knife sheath; he smiled and nodded at me.

  I told Woosh he was a fast runner for an old man.

  "I didn't run, you know that. I am lame with age." He looked seriously at me. "Why do you resist this?"

  I confessed I was frightened. I told him of my vision, of the huge cold place and the water.

  "So, it is true. I knew you had it. You saw those distant waters. Others have had it, and they have gone, too."

  Greeland suddenly put his arms around me. "You had the vision," he said with a deep grin. "That means we can leave together, and we will never be separated."

  "But to where?" I asked.

  Woosh began his story: "There is another planet. It is so far away that we cannot calculate it, but visions of it come to us from time to time. You had such a vision. I saw it in your eyes."

  I wondered what else he could see there besides fear, for that was all the vision instilled in me.

  "On this other planet, the people are different. They do not divide themselves into three groups like on ours. They are divided into many groups, and sometimes you cannot easily tell one group from the other. Their planet is in turmoil, that is for certain. Perhaps they do not know about Ki and Her plan: if they did, there would be balance."

  "How do you know these things?" I asked. "And why haven't you gone yourself?"

  "Enkidu!" Greeland said, out of patience, "Why so many questions? How this? Why that? The questions are simple: Will this save us? And how in the name of Ki do we do it?"

  "Let the boy speak," Aawkwa said. "He is going also. He has a right to ask these questions."

  Greeland turned his face away. I could tell he was angry. "Suppose we die there?" I asked.

  "You won't die," Greeland said, turning towards me and touching my face. "I won't let you die. As long as I am Greeland, I will never let you die."

  "Wait a second," Woosh interrupted. "I will answer his questions. I also know things through my own visions. My visions say it is not right for the Blue Monkeys to leave. Our leaving would disturb the balance, and encourage havoc. We are locked in here as part of the balance, that is why we are so sensitive to the dangers of others." He stopped and then began to laugh. "Besides, someone has to keep the priestesses themselves in line."

  "Then your work is cut out for you," Greeland said, and joined in the laughter.

  "But you Dark Men," Woosh said, "are special. That is why you lead the Goddess Dance yourselves and not us. Enkidu, I think your goodness of heart will serve you faithfully in this new place, and keep you safe. You have a mind that is keen and directed. It is also free from anger and what some would call the sin of arrogance. Therefore you will not forget where you came from, or turn with hostility on those who really love you."

  "But will I come back? Will I die?"

  "Yes, it is possible for you to die, Enkidu. That is why you must stay close to Greeland. Your being with him will keep you safe, and bring you back. I cannot tell you anymore than I know. But I know that others—in the course of time—have gone; maybe some have come back. Again, I cannot say anymore to you. Honestly, there are brothers like us on this planet. Perhaps there are many of them. How they got there, from which enclave, when they arrived—these are part of the mysteries of Ki. Perhaps you will encounter them yourself, and recognize them."

  "The important thing is we can go!" Greeland said. "I will not be separated from you!" He jumped up from where he sat. He was energized, almost ecstatic. "When we go, we'll come back—and we'll bring one of them back with us!"

  "Why?" I asked.

  "Don't you see, Enkidu—to take your place!"

  This was all crazy, all unbelievable. Why, I asked them, would someone from another planet want to take my place?

  Woosh spoke up. "Because, my young friend, they have a plague there now. I know it; I can feel it."

  "Can you, Woosh?" Aawkwa asked. "Perhaps that explains the strangeness on our planet. Why Enkidu's own half-brother wandered into our forest to kill them. I believe that sort of behavior is exceptional even here on Ki."

  "No doubt about it," Woosh agreed. "There is disturbance in the cosmos. The balance of Ki, of Nature itself, is on edge. That is why I'm sure a Same-Sexer from this planet will come back with you. He will not have the third testicle, so he can take your place, Enkidu. You will stay united with Greeland, and you will share, dear friends, the bliss of our planet."

  Greeland suddenly hugged Woosh's face in his hands, and turned to me. "He is right, Enkidu. One will come back with us, then you and I will live in happiness with our brothers here."

  "But suppose he brings the plague back to us?" I asked.

  "He can't," Aawkwa said. "We already had it. I believe it was over two hundred Ten Moons ago."

  "Exactly," Woosh said. "It is now bred out of us. We are immune to it."

  "But won't the Off-Sexers know that this person from the other planet is not me?"

  "Enkidu, Enkidu," Greeland said. "My sweet foolish child: they have never actually seen you. The only ones who have are the Sisters of Ki, and they don't want to upset things anymore than we do. That is why they will not allow me to be killed. If I am killed, it will only be giving the Off-Sexers permission to attack us. Even the Sisters know that. Right, Woosh?"

  "Exactly," Woosh agreed.

  Aawkwa nodded his head. "I never thought of it that way."

  Suddenly I remembered something: "We can't lie," I said. "Wouldn't this be a lie?"

  "No," Woosh said. "Not a lie." He winked: "A replacement."

  I looked at all of them. Woosh and Greeland looked directly at me, but Aawkwa was embarrassed. "What about you, Aawkwa?" I asked.

  "We will get around it. Somehow." He bowed his head. "Despite his problems, I love Greeland. He is a hunter at heart. He is different from the rest of us who garden, or carve in wood. We cannot let him down. We will not think of this as a lie but, as Woosh said, a replacement."

  Greeland jumped up, charged by his own enthusiasm. "Fooling the Off-Sexers will be the easiest part. They think we all look alike. It hardly makes a difference to them what
my promised one looks like. I mean, they will say, 'He is strange looking, but they all are.'" Greeland's jaw set hard; the fire came back into his eyes. "We know this about the Off-Sexers: They only want to believe what they want to believe. That is why they tell the worst lies."

  Greeland's eyes closed. Tears ran down his face. He hugged me and kissed my neck. "Someone to take your place—how wonderful, Enkidu."

  This was still difficult for me to believe. "Are you sure we're immune to this plague?"

  "Yes," Woosh said firmly. "And I know this is the right thing to do." He got up very slowly. He was right, age had brought on lameness. It was crazy for me to believe he could run back to Greeland's hut to retrieve his headband. Or to disbelieve anything Woosh said.

  He looked at me with that same look that went right through me. I went over to him and he leaned on me. "You must help me go back further into the cave. And there we will begin preparations for your journey."

  Woosh took my arm, and I gave him support, while he and Aawkwa led us deeper into the cave. The two old men knew the cave intimately. Going deeper frightened me. The only time I'd been there, with Greeland, we had not ventured further than the light that came through its mouth. But this time, we descended, lowering ourselves by a series of stairs cut into the rocks, trailing through an amazing series of underground grottos and passageways.

  For light, we had only burning branches from the fire. As torches, they were primitive, but served well and never started to go out. I realized there was something magical—and awesome—about this place, as Woosh and Aawkwa led us deeper.

  Explosive colors and rock formations broke through the drab stone surroundings. One section was lined with rose quartz, and seemed transparent—like a tunnel of pink glass. There were columns of crinkly blue quartz, and other formations that looked like rushing waves of stone frozen forever.

  The cave was a labyrinth, a series of false starts and connecting spirals. There were chambers that twisted around themselves, and then meandered up to impenetrable archways. I tried to memorize every turn of the path we took. "You must pay close attention," Woosh said. "Because one day you two will have to get out of the cave by yourselves."