Two days later, they were finished loading the boats with supplies, equipment, and anything else they thought might be of use on the trip. Now that it didn’t matter any longer, Anderika, even though she knew it was meaningless, charged the robot with all remaining power, and the last thing they saw when they went up on deck was how its energy lamp shined with a steady green glow. With heavy hearts, they took their places in the boats, and when the Olina, which had been their home for so long finally disappeared from sight, it was difficult for many to hide their feelings and hold back their tears. As well as their sadness at leaving and leaving behind what was familiar and safe, they were also afraid of the unknown, which at worst could mean the end for them all.
CHAPTER 13
The trip proceeded without incident and four days later they arrived at the sandy bay where, once they had gone ashore, they immediately set about digging a small cave that Anderika, well before evening, could settle into.
“How’s it going in there?” shouted Gus once they had concealed the entrance with branches and carefully camouflaged it with sand.
“It’s OK,” she answered, through a little peephole. “It could maybe have been a little more comfortable, but one can’t have too high expectations.”
“No, exactly. Sometimes one just has to be happy for the small things,” laughed Kark.
“God, I’m so nervous I could almost throw up. Does anybody want to trade places?”
“Try to relax,” said Kark. “It’s a bit late to back out now and as I recall it was your own idea.”
“Yes, I know, but it’s one thing to plan something and another to carry it out.”
“This will be a piece of cake for you.”
“Thanks. I sure hope you’re right. Otherwise I might be cake.”
After a quick farewell, Kark, Allur, Caver, Gus, and Neiger took shelter in two of the boats, a short distance from the shore, while the others continued further out into the swamp. At dusk they began to shout and create a ruckus, to attract the monsters, while Anderika settled in for a long and tiresome wait. Just when she was sitting and watching a shiny, yellow caterpillar that was climbing in small, graceful movements up her arm, she suddenly heard a violent roar, and through the crack saw a huge shaggy beast approaching in huge leaps and bounds. Her hands shaking, she threw the converter switch at what must have been the last second, since the monster had already begun digging into the sand and would have soon reached her. After converting another two monsters, she ran down to the swamp, where Kark and Allur quickly took her to safety, and ecstatically told them how everything had gone according to plan. The next morning, when they returned to the shore, three monsters were actually standing there, with yellow fangs, thick brownish-red fur, green eyes, and hands as big as frying pans, waiting for them.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?” Anderika asked, once the transponder in her pocket had indicated that their language had been interpreted.
“Yes,” they grunted in deep voices.
“Are you also following our commands?”
“Yes,” they answered, in unison.
“There you go,” she said to the others, pleased. “It’s working just as I thought it would.”
“Great,” said Allur, “then let’s hurry and get the others over here so that we can get as far away from here as possible by evening.”
When everyone had come on shore and been convinced that they didn’t have to be afraid of the monsters, they picked up their backpacks, with their equipment and food, and proceeded into the dense, dark forest. Allur went first, followed closely by the others in a long, single file, with the monsters coming up a distant last, since nobody wanted to have them close behind them. At first, everybody tramped along in a good mood, but after a few hours, their enthusiasm began to wane, until finally they were forced to stop for a rest. They had paused in a little clearing and taken off their backpacks when Zania suddenly shouted that Selis was gone.
“It’s no use,” said Esai, after having shouted her name in all directions and only receiving occasional bird twitter in reply. “She must have become separated from us somewhere along the way.”
“So, what do we do now?” wondered Ixter.
“Well, I’m going back to look for her, anyway,” said Shay, “for otherwise I’ll never be at peace with my conscience. You others just go on and I’ll catch up to you later.”
“In that case I’m going with you,” said Caver, at which Allur spoke for everyone in saying that they should stick together and face their common destiny.
When they had rested long enough, the long column turned back from whence they had come and, after having walked for an hour or so, shouting constantly as they went, Allur suddenly raised his hand for them to stop in silence. At first, they heard only the whispering of the wind and birdsong here and there, but after a while they heard someone crying for help. Eventually, after having thrashed through dense thickets, they found Selis sunken to her neck in mud in a bit of marsh.
“Try to be as still as possible,” Allur screamed at her. “We’ll soon get you out!”
After a quick discussion they worked together to cut down a tree so that it fell across the pool, and Shay crawled out to her on it.
“I’m sorry, I hurried as fast as I could,” he said, with tears in his eyes, when he had finally managed to pull her up to safety a few moments later, at which she accused him of arriving so late. “How did you ever manage to get yourself stuck like that?”
“I was playing with Mimosa and Garlev and ran after a beautiful butterfly, when I suddenly discovered that I had gotten lost, and then I got stuck here in this stupid swamp when I was looking for you,” she answered.
“We were lucky this time, but you have to promise me that from now on you’ll be more careful,” he admonished her, while stroking her cheek.
When they had cleaned the worst of the dirt off her, they returned to their determined march, not stopping for a break until they had made it back to the spot where they had turned around in search of her. Despite their aching muscles, they continued on relentlessly until dawn, when, completely exhausted, they sought safety up in the branches of some trees in the futile hope that they were out of reach of the monsters. This revealed itself to be a real leap of fancy, however, for no sooner had they settled down as well as they could among the tree branches, they heard terrifying howls and heavy footfalls.
“Help, they’re coming!” whimpered Flores, clutching Esai’s waist.
“Everything’ll be alright,” he only managed to say, before the air filled with screams and cries and a violent fight broke out beneath them.
The darkness was so black and impenetrable that it was impossible to see what was going on, but after a while, which felt like forever, the attackers finally gave up and withdrew.
Still clinging to their tree branches, at dawn they saw that two of the converted monsters had died, while the third sat on a stump licking its wounds. Fortunately, none of them had been injured, so once they had quickly downed a bit of breakfast, they struck out again on their courageous journey through the lush dense forest. Towards afternoon, the treetops lightened slightly, so they could catch brief glimpses of blue sky. Even though they were at the edge of exhaustion, they marched on determinedly, however, starkly conscious that the situation was extremely serious and that all would soon be lost if they couldn’t quickly reach safety. As evening approached, Shay turned to Allur and asked whether they shouldn’t stop and make camp.
“What do you mean?” responded Allur.
“Think about it!” Shay blurted, in irritation. “In a few hours it’s going to be dark and by then we’ll need to have established a safer place to sleep than last night.”
“You’re right about that, but however much we prepare, the monsters can probably still reach us if we hide up in the trees.”
“But what are our chances if we don’t prepare ourselves? Smarten up!”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. Si
nce the tree cover is no longer so dense, it may be that we’re approaching the edge of the forest, which is why I think we should continue for as long as we can.”
“I really disagree with you about that and, besides, I really don’t think we can interpret the thickness of the tree cover in that way.”
“No, but it’s still me who the group has entrusted to make the decisions, which you have to accept whether you like it or not.”
“Yes, unfortunately,” muttered Shay, resigned. “I really hope you won’t end up with a reason for changing your mind.”
“I hope so too.”
Dusk was approaching, and Allur was just thinking of giving the order for them to make camp for the night, when suddenly, almost magically, the forest opened and gave way to a green meadow with a high palisade wall at its far end. They stopped short, shocked, not knowing what to believe, when they heard roaring in the forest, nearby, which meant that the converted monster was in a fight, and they realized they had to keep going. Limping and stumbling from exhaustion, they arrived at the palisade, where several people stood gaping at them in surprise, but who refused to let them in, despite their desperate pleas. Eventually, some sort of leader arrived, and after surmising that they didn’t constitute a threat, the drawbridge was dropped. Once safely inside the palisade, they were surrounded by a mass of armed men and women and escorted to a large log building where an elderly woman, with a blue cape and dark-brown hair in a pageboy cut, waited for them. When the woman asked them if they could understand her, and Allur, who had left the translator device turned on the whole time, answered that there wasn’t any problem, she seemed startled, as if she had expected that she would hardly be able to be understood by them.
“My name is Dirazif, Queen of the Riverlands,” she said, “and who are you who have travelled so far through the forest of monsters?”
“It’s a long story, but, briefly, we’ve come from the swamp, where we crash-landed after being forced to flee our home planet, Loria.”
“Hell, it’s a miracle!” she burst out, and proceeded to ask them about everything under the sun.
After a few hours, when more and more of them were constantly yawning, she realized that they must be both hungry and exhausted and ordered her captain of the guards, Errak, to escort them to their quarters for the night. Walking through the village, their path was lined with curious onlookers who had never seen strangers and who both wanted to see and touch them. When they arrived at the guesthouse, a two-story half-timbered building with a thatched roof, they were greeted by warm, welcoming light glowing through the windows on the ground floor. On knocking, the door was swung open by the innkeeper, bald and with a red-pocked face, who gazed at them in surprise but eventually came to his senses and brought out food and drink. Even though they were almost past being tired, they filled themselves with hearty appetites and were soon on their way, content and with bellies full, to their lodgings for what little of the night was left to them. Shay and Baria, who had agreed to sleep together, were assigned a room on the second floor. It had a large wooden bed with fluffy pillows and a thick patchwork quilt. No tiredness in the world could hinder their desire any longer; after making love with an intensity that was beyond what either of them could have imagined, they fell fast asleep, entwined in each other’s arms.
The next morning, they were wakened by a careful but distinct knocking on the door. Baria stared terrified at Shay for an instant, until she realized where she was, then broke out into a broad grin. When Shay opened the door, he found a short woman there, her eyes bright and round, who invited them to come down to breakfast. They spent a few more minutes on the bed, play-wrestling and giggling, then dressed and went down to join the others in the dining room.
“We wish to extend a warm welcome to you,” Dirazif exclaimed when she had eventually joined them, Errak at her side, “and we hope you’ve slept well and recovered somewhat after yesterday’s trials. Our hope is that you will enjoy being in Riverland, which is a very tiny country squeezed in between the bacteria sea to the east and the forest of monsters to the west. According to the scriptures, a ship crash-landed out in the swamp long ago, much as yours did, and a few survivors managed to evade the monsters and cross the river to a small strip of land, called Ganza, not covered by the sea of bacteria. When curiosity eventually drove them to explore their surroundings, they travelled north on the river through the desolate sea of bacteria to a large lake, which they called Ardaka, with a verdant island they called Leido.
“What is the sea of bacteria?” asked Shay.
“You said it. It’s been there forever, as far as we know, but it can be likened to a layer of black bacteria, anywhere between a few decimetres to several metres deep, which destroys all organic material that encounters it.”
"But what do they feed on? Do not bacteria need live food?
“No, not these, since they have a constitution that is able to supply its vital functions from the surrounding atmosphere. If they get a bit of meat they’re happy to consume that, too. Well, well,” she continued, “it wasn’t possible for them to travel any further, since the sea forms the upper reaches of the river, which emerges from underground springs. When they made their way south, everything was just as desolate, until they heard the roar of an enormous waterfall, so that they were forced to turn around to avoid being dragged over the edge. They called it ‘Hell’s Falls’ and even today there’s still nobody who’s ever managed to pass the test of continuing any further in that direction. Once they’d settled on the island of Leido, which was out of reach of the monsters, they lived a carefree and happy life. As the years went by, the island’s resources were no longer sufficient to feed everybody, so finally a number of them were forced to return to Ganza, where they planted crops on the other side of the river, in the shelter of dikes and high palisades. Through new plantations and by adding soil, whenever rain makes the bacteria withdraw temporarily, the Riverlands have become increasingly important and today also include the villages of Kalljo and Rubin.”
“Don’t you have problems with the monsters?” Anderika asked. “They seem to be extremely aggressive.”
“Yes, really,” answered Dirazif, with a dry laugh. “They occasionally throw stones at the palisades, which sometimes causes great damage. Luckily, they detest water, similarly to the bacteria, and they’ve only managed to cross the dikes a few times. With every passing year, we become better at controlling them. For the moment, there seems to be a fragile ceasefire between us, which could be broken at any time, however, if they notice any weakness in our defences.”
“Can’t you attack them in the daytime, when they’re resting?” asked Kark.
“One can certainly try, but so far our attempts have all failed, with the only result being that a number of capable men and women have lost their lives. The monsters can be found deep in their holes, with their incredible sense of hearing, almost as dangerous as during the night.”
“How many of them are there?” asked Rhus.
“It’s hard to say, but at least a few thousand, I’d guess.”
Once everyone had run out of questions, she proposed that they should go out and have a look at the Riverlands. As they were going out and had left the building they were met by a large crowd that stood in awe of every move they made. “My God, look at all the stares,” said Anderika. “We’re not so strange, are we?”
“Well, at least they seem to think so,” said Dirazif, laughing, “so it’s just as well you get used to it. You’ve become huge idols here.”
The street they were following, just like all the other streets in Kalljo, ran into a large square surrounded by a number of beautiful wooden-frame, painted buildings, of different sizes, with shops on their ground floors. Next to the square was a small park, filled with shade trees and flowering bushes, that extended down to the banks of the river. The village was surrounded by farmland, watered by a clever system of irrigation canals; the fields closest to the village were planted with veg
etables, while the fields that were further away were of wheat and rye. On the other side of the river, connected by a long, wooden arch bridge, was the old town, Ganza, with its clutter of small picturesque houses, surrounded by the enormous, glittering bacteria sea. That the river, with its clear blue water, was the lifeblood of the community was no less obvious from the large number of boats, of different sizes and designs, that were tied to the docks. Everywhere they went they were met with intensive hospitality and warmth, which occasionally became almost ingratiating. But, as Anderika said, laughing, there were much worse things that they might have been forced to get used to, and no one has ever died of a little tenderness. As evening eventually settled, a huge reception was held in their honour, with endless good food and music played on instruments that none of them had ever seen anything like before.
CHAPTER 14
During the war, in great secrecy, huge effort had been expended to construct a robot that had the working name BU-tek 34. To be an effective weapon against the Olegians’ armed forces, the researchers considered that it was important that its technical characteristics incorporated the most recent advances before it was released for operations. As defeats on the battlefield became heavier, though, Marshall Verress, the project leader, became more impatient, and several times weighed whether the work with the robot should be interrupted so that it could begin to be mass-produced. When a prototype was finally ready to be sent to Oboe for a demonstration for the top brass, the research facility was tragically destroyed by a well-programmed Olegian nuclear warhead, which killed all the personnel who were supposed to accompany the robot, which then remained, forgotten, in a dark warehouse. As soon as he had seen the robot, however, Hug understood its great potential. By reminding her of his appetite for technology, he received Anderika’s blessing to familiarize himself with it, until in secret he was finally able to conduct a number of improvements, which among other things increased its electrical capacity. Thus, two days after they had left the ship, the robot was able to disconnect itself from its electrical plug-in and, once it had surmised that it was surrounded by water, build a boat and depart in search of the people that it had been programmed to defend.
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