by Nancie Neal
"What is on here?" She asked.
"It's a research ship design. It was Roniathan's first test. I wanted to see if he can learn from our knowledge and put it to use."
Tanishia pointed the tube at the metal clamp. Then she pushed a button, and a thin laser came out. She used the laser to etch "Roniathan: First Test: Research Ship." Amnika got a whiff of the burnt metal and winced.
Chuckling, Tanishia handed Amnika the etching pen. "You can keep this one. I have a spare." She put the data crystal into her pouch. "I can bring it over to the research building tomorrow. I'm sure Zakkon will be excited to see what your project produced."
At that moment, the door buzzed.
"I got that," Amnika said.
The door slid open to reveal Trinka. Amnika gestured for Trinka to remain quiet.
"Zonstan is here, isn't he?" Trinka whispered.
Amnika nodded and motioned Trinka to follow her. Tanishia saw Trinka and gave a little wave.
When the two girls got into the project room, Amnika closed the door.
"Hello, Trinka!" Roniathan greeted her.
Trinka studied Amnika's project for a moment.
"How does it see us?" She asked.
"My name is Roniathan. I do not like being called an 'it.'"
Trinka giggled, "I'm sorry, Roniathan. I take it you decided to be male?"
"I chose what Amnika is most responsive to."
"He sounds like my brother with some variation. I figured when he wasn't speaking, he was still watching us." Amnika pointed to the display facing them. "And the display is the older version of our panels."
Trinka understood. "Oh, so it's sensitive to light. He can see us through the display and produce sound, although not as good."
"I also programmed him to hate being called an 'it,'" Amnika explained. "I thought he would be more personable that way."
Trinka smiled. "Well, he already seems personable. If you think unemotional is personable."
"He will learn." Amnika chuckled. "He has to watch us interact with each other. Now I have something else to show you." Amnika took out her tablet with pride.
Trinka gasped.
"Guess what?!" She exclaimed as she took out her own. "Same with me!"
"You know, I'm not surprised," Amnika giggled. "We need an artist, and you certainly have the talent. Congratulations!"
"Congratulations to you, too!"
The girls hugged each other.
"Things are moving really fast," Amnika said. "I was so happy and excited, but I realize now that I will have responsibilities."
"But not too many." Trinka wasn't smiling anymore more. "We still have to go through formal education first."
"I have a feeling that I'm being pushed into something." Amnika sighed. "Zakkon is already letting me in their talks. I think they were too uncomfortable breaching protocol, so they rushed their citizenship."
"I know the feeling," Trinka agreed. "I wonder if it's not just because of my artistic abilities that prompted the push for my citizenship."
"You think they made you citizen because of me?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, You don't have to be a citizen to go into formal education. And I can just as easily sell my work and ideas to the city that would more than pay for housing fees."
The friends stared at each other for a moment.
"Maybe we are overthinking this?" Amnika asked.
Trinka nodded and sighed. "Zakkon came to my place instead of your father. He wanted to see my drawings himself. I showed him, and he seemed so happy." Amnika could sense that her friend was giddy again. "He said I need to scan my work for the archives and then sell the physical drawing in the market." Trinka looked at her tablet. "I can use the pieces I get to purchase supplies." She tapped on her device. "Father apologized again for criticizing me for wasting resources. He bought me more writing boards and color pastes. I know he means well." Trinka showed the screen of her tablet. She scanned the second drawing. This time it was of the riochi flowers, and it was in color.
"I used carved sticks to put the paste on. The Natisien vendor helped me to pick out the right ones. It dried nicely, I think."
Studying the drawing, she marveled on how the riochi flowers look realistic as they stretched out towards the sun. A drop of water sparkled as it hung from one of the dark purple petals. Another, light purple flower had an insect on it. "Trinka, that is beautiful." Amnika handed the tablet back to Trinka.
"Father said he will take me to the market to sell them tomorrow. I can't wait to see what I can get for them." Trinka hooked her tablet back onto the loop of her shirt.
Amnika showed Trinka the ship design on the display screen.
"I couldn't put it onto my tablet because the reader won't transfer," Amnika explained. "I'm supposed to get a new one tomorrow."
The door of the project room opened, and Tanishia walked in. "Your father should be here soon," Tanishia said. "I think you are well enough for a few moments alone."
"We'll be okay." Amnika wiggled her fingers at Zonstan. He smiled at her.
Tanishia left.
Amnika sighed. "Oshtron still doesn't trust me alone for long."
"What of Tanishia?"
"He has his reasons, and you know they share memories as a couple. Tanishia probably feels the same way." Amnika picked up a small, loose component and looked at it. She walked it over to the recycle bin and tossed it in. "Astran isn't here. Otherwise, Tanishia would stay longer."
"I guess we all have some harsh people in our lives," Trinka said. "But they mean well."
"I know." Amnika looked at Trinka. "It seems that Oshtron is warming to me since I wanted to become a citizen. Perhaps I was just as harsh on him as he was to me."
Chapter Eleven
Amnika worked on her project with her uncle's help. Her father tried to help as much as he could, but his duties as Advisor took up a lot of his time. Soon, Roniathan no longer looked like a box of random wires and patched parts.
After slipping the maintenance cover over the box, Amnika walked around the table to admire her work. It didn't seem too long ago she could barely fit everything onto the table. Now, nearly six moon-cycles later, a simple white box with smooth corner sat on the table. The detachable panel facing the door was the display using the latest polymer from Nahbor. Amnika found out that the city did indeed sell the latest polymer, just not in large pieces. Tubing, wrapped around the outside of the cube, glowed a silver-blue. It carried rikta energy to the components inside. Since Roniathan was stable, Zakkon authorized him to connect to the city's data with full access to materials and medical. The Leader was unsure if it would be wise to share weapons, negotiation, and trade data, but he promised to let him have it as soon as he saw what Roniathan did with the data he already had.
"You do have to make it portable." Oshtron put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Otherwise, you'll have to shut Roniathan down to move him. I can help you with that. It will be a few days, though. We may expand the communities again, so I have to make an evaluation. I bet Roniathan will have a solution by then?"
"Do you already have energy storage banks for this purpose?" Roniathan asked.
"Yes," Amnika said, "but I think we will need something more efficient. The ones that can power you for a few days are rather large."
"I see," Roniathan responded. "I can see if I can come up with something. May I take the liberty to place it in the ship design?"
"I don't see why not," Amnika said. "I planned on putting you into the research ship. The backup storage banks would definitely be a good idea. This would be for in case something goes wrong with the mini-generator."
"I should have that ready in a couple of days," Roniathan said. "It may be too late for formal education."
Oshtron chuckled. "Yes, it will be. Which is why I'll probably put it together for her. This project is worth all the help that anyone can give." He winked at Amnika.
Amnika smiled back. Her uncle wasn't so harsh on
her anymore. The project changed their relationship dynamics.
Tanishia walked into the room with Zonstan. Oshtron got up and walked over to nuzzle his wife. Then he kissed his son on the top of his head.
Zonstan turned towards Amnika.
"Amnika! Right there!"
"Oh, he says my name!" Amnika said.
"Yes," Tanishia said. "He was saying it all morning."
She set Zonstan down. He ran over to Amnika and gave her a hug. Then he ran back and motioned for his mother to pick him up.
"Well, I guess that's it then," Tanishia said as she picked him up. She chuckled.
"We do have to go," Oshtron said. "I will see you in a few days unless you come to the Natisien communities sooner."
Amnika nodded, and they said their goodbyes. After she watched them leave, she detached the display and looked at it. It was similar to the tablets, only it wouldn't work too far from the cube. She tapped on it and brought up the measurements of the energy usage. It looked like Roniathan already made some estimates on how much energy would be needed for a storage bank.
Amnika put the display back onto the cube and stepped back to continue to admire her work. She looked forward to the next few days. After a few moments, she began to work on her project again. She still had some parts to order. Roniathan asked for a few to improve his processor speed. Amnika told him that she needed to make sure that she fixed all the problems first. He had to be ready to transport.
He assured her that a faster processor will speed up the calculations. She knew this, but she wasn't sure if it was necessary to have the results sooner. Oshtron agreed to finish the project up for her after she starts formal education. He was going to see to it that the Natisiens move Roniathan safely.
While she was looking at her tablet, she felt what seemed to be something breaking in her chest. Amnika held her stylus midair and tried to figure out what happened. She didn't understand what it was, but she felt as though she lost something important. A nagging feeling as if she forgot something. She slid the stylus into the tablet and questioned that if she forgot about something, why would it make her feel this sad.
Later, she was eating her midday meal. Both her mother and father were gone. So she was with Tanishia. She felt another break. It felt as though something thumped her in the chest. She stopped halfway through her bar and stared at it. Zonstan was napping as he does through every midday meal.
"Amnika?" Tanishia asked.
Amnika looked at her.
"I'm not sure," Amnika said. Again, that feeling of great loss came over her. "I think I may have lost something."
Tanishia felt her sadness. She walked over and gave Amnika a hug. Amnika shared her feelings, but Tanishia couldn't figure out what was going on.
It happened a third time while Amnika was waiting for sleep to overtake her. It wasn't as strong as the other two. She sat up in bed. She thought that whatever bothered her seemed to be fading. Amnika laid back down and went to sleep.
When Amnika woke up the next day, she heard her father talk to her mother. She got up and stood at the top of the lift to listen.
"I got word that three Inersiens died yesterday," Father said. He sounded concerned.
"They weren't old?" Her mother asked.
"No. Medical is unsure what caused it. They didn't live close to each other. As far as we know, they hadn't come into contact with each other for the last six moon-cycles."
Amnika went down the lift. Her father saw her and looked at her for a moment.
"Is there something you wanted to tell or share with me?" He asked.
Amnika stopped for a moment. She wasn't sure what he was insinuating.
"Tanishia told me that you had some trouble, yesterday."
Amnika remembered. "I'm not sure what to make of it. I thought that maybe if it happens again and I'm close, I can share the moment with you. It will likely be best shared while it happens." Some experiences aren't always remembered precisely as they occurred and are too complicated to explain.
Father nodded. "I understand, but Oshtron may understand, too. He's still at the Natisien community today."
"Yes, I was going to take Trinka over there to get our hair braided. Mine is falling out, again."
Father chuckled as he set his hand on her head.
"Your hair is like you. It does its own thing. Most of the time, it's great. Sometimes it causes some problems." He took his hand off her head. "Unlike your hair, you can take responsibility for those problems and learn from them. If you do that, you will live your life well. You will pass on as wise, and everyone will miss you when you pass on.
Father brought her close and shared that he was sad and concerned about the deaths.
"I don't understand." Amnika pulled back. "I thought we eliminated premature Inersien deaths."
"Sometimes nature changes and the deaths come back." Father sighed. "We caught the last one quickly. It was some mutated virus that our immune system wasn't used to."
"I guess life isn't guaranteed, now is it?" Amnika hugged her father again. Then she grabbed two bars. One to eat immediately, and another in case she didn't make it home on time for the midday meal. After putting one in her pouch, she opened the first package and studied it. The bars were simplistic, designed to satisfy their nutritional needs. Made mostly of ground riochi seeds and dried berries, there wasn't much to them. Amnika was glad her mother could cook to add variety to their meals.
She decided she would eat it on the way to find her friend.
When Amnika reached Trinka's lane, she could see Rodgistan talking to her parents. Trinka, who stood next to them, saw Amnika and ran over.
"Guess what?!" Trinka said excitedly, "Rodgistan came and talked to my parents. He wants me to go to formal education in a few days." Trinka paused to catch her breath." With you!"
"You're half a cycle behind me."
"He said it was because you are a good influence on me and that I may have more underlying talent you might help to bring out."
"Oh," Amnika said. She was happy to hear that she was going to be able to see her close friend more often than just a couple of times a year.
"Let's go to the Natisien communities," Trinka said, "it'll be the last time we get to be with our neighbor friends."
Amnika nodded and grabbed Trinka's hand. They took the alleys to get to the Natisien side. Amnika picked up the pace and began running, pulling Trinka behind her.
The newer, small Inersien polymer buildings gave way to the older, large stone buildings for the Natisiens. Spanning the length of six Inersiens home groups, one building was designed to be shared with more than one family. Amnika knew the braiders were in the center homes. The path looked clear, so she glanced back at Trinka trailing behind her. When she turned back, she ran into the leg of a Natisien woman. She fell backward onto the ground, landing next to Trinka who stepped out of the way. A few gasps could be heard among the other Natisiens, and the activity around them stopped.
Amnika was a little disoriented but was able to recover, and she stood up. There were a few relieved chuckles, and everyone went back to what they were doing.
The woman Natisien, who also looked relieved, said sternly, "Inersiens shouldn't run here with the Natisiens. You could seriously injure yourself. Especially if you run without looking at where you are going."
Amnika looked at the ground. "I apologize," she said, "I didn't mean to cause trouble."
The Natisien laughed. "No trouble unless you get hurt," she said. "Come, I braid your hair."
Amnika followed her to where a group of Natisien Women and their daughters were lined up on the building's stoop to braid each other's hair. Inersien children who were old enough to be on their own were also there to get their hair braided and to play with the Natisien children.
While she waited behind a couple of other, she sensed that her uncle and his wife was with their son, Zonstan were also there. As they walked, Zonstan saw her waiting.
"Amnika! Right there!"
he told his mother. Amnika looked up at him just in time to see a familiar Natisien point her way.
Amnika sighed and looked down. Her running in the Natisien community was going to get back to her Father one way or another.
"Amnika?"
"Yes, Oshtron," Amnika said and looked up. He was a little taller than her father, but at the moment, he might as well be a Natisien.
"You know I have to tell your father about what you did," he scolded.
Amnika nodded.
"You put yourself and Trinka in danger," Oshtron continued, "She saw where you were going and stopped. If she wasn't paying attention, she could have run into you and injured herself as well. We must try not to use resources and injuring yourself or Trinka would do just that."
Amnika looked at Trinka who was also looking down.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble," Amnika said, "I apologize."
She could hear Oshtron sigh. "We do still worry about you, Amnika."
She looked up at his last statement, confused. She saw the familiar Natisien behind him look at her and tapped his chest with two fingers. Another Natisien got Oshtron's attention. Amnika figured she could ask him what he meant later.
The one who told on her walked over. Amnika realized it was Ishda. She remembered her father mentioning that he quit wall guard. She almost didn't recognize him with his newly grown facial hair.
"If you are so loyal," Amnika said, "Then why did you tell my uncle?"
He laughed, "Because I'm more loyal to Zeth." He patted his whole hand on his chest to make the point. His voice was so low, it almost sounded like a whisper, but Amnika could feel it in her chest. "Zeth said to report to him or your uncle whenever you do not act properly. I think he's right, anyway. You could have caused more problems than just falling." He touched her upper back.
Amnika sighed but wasn't surprised. The Natisiens loved her father, and they would do anything for him, including spying on her.
"Ishda," Amnika said, "Aren't you storytelling now?"
Legend stories were usually told by the tribal leader. Since the tribal leader could not be in two places at once, he assigned someone to tell the stories to those in the communities.