The Coridian compound apparently encompassed at least this floor of the building and was as beautiful as it was large. The entire floor plan was open with thirty foot ceilings and an entire glass wall that was rippled like waves on the surface of a mild sideways sea.
The view over the valley floor was incredible and it was much easier to see how the city was laid out. We were high enough on one of the valley walls that I was able to estimate the geographical size of the city to be similar to Wichita, Kansas; the town I grew up in. There was no way however, that there were 350,000 people in this city; I’d be surprised if there were 20,000 people here.
“Can we take the entire team?” I heard Major Reagan asking.
“That would be difficult,” Captain Silva responded. “The ship is probably big enough but the retreat is not. I would suggest that you take a contingent like what you have here, eight to ten people.”
“I’m not real big on the idea of splitting my team up Silva.”
“I understand that Major…” Captain Silva was hesitating to say the rest but went on, “I would just like to suggest that it would be a great sign of respect from you not to force her to break her retreat. I am certain that you going to her in this instance would not go unnoticed; please believe me when I say that in our culture Semi is highly regarded and would be a great friend for Earth to have.”
I turned from the window and stepped over to the group.
“Major Reagan? If I could interject? I wouldn’t mind staying here at all as long as I could have access to the Stigerian people. Several of us have been invited to spend the day with Tunica so we can get a feel for the local lifestyle and I don’t know how many more opportunities like this might present themselves…”
The Major made a quick decision. “Ok, I want Dr. Decker, Julie, and Captains Hiromi and Kamiko to accompany Silva and me to this retreat. How soon can we leave?”
Before Captain Silva could answer I said, “Major, could I suggest you switch out Julie and Anzio? I could use her expertise here while trying to understand these people and Anzio would add a lot of observational value to your team.”
Julie was nodding as the Major said, “So be it. Now, how soon can we leave?”
∆∆∆
It turns out that Tunica had no real concept of a ‘full-time’ job. As a matter of fact I was beginning to think the word ‘job’ wasn’t going to be an accurate description for anything either.
“Do you mean to say that on your world everyone does basically one thing; the same thing every day, all day, for years at a time? But why?” Tunica said as we nodded.
“Well, I suppose it’s not everyone on our planet but close enough. Tunica, on our world people need to work so they can earn currency to pay for the things they need; like food and shelter,” Julie said.
“I still do not understand,” said Tunica. “We occasionally have someone that will get so focused on an area of interest or study that they kind of forget about everything else for a few months or sometimes even a few years but how is it that your whole society is so passionately interested in only singular pursuits?”
“Ah, well,” I jumped in. “It is true that some of us are passionate about our careers but I think most people just do the work so that they can put food on the table for themselves and their families.”
“Do you mean that many people are devoting most of their waking lives to doing stuff they would rather not do?” she asked.
When I nodded she continued, “Are they being punished?”
We explained that no, on our world people had to earn currency in order to buy things… but I still don’t think she was getting it.
“If they are hungry why don’t they just go to a restaurant?” She asked.
It further turns out that Tunica led a very active life. She had a number of things she did on a regular basis; things we might call jobs.
Her work at the Coridian enclave was one example of that.
“How much time do you spend working with the enclave?” Julie asked.
“I devote a few fourthdays a week,” she replied. A fourthday was equivalent to about six hours.
As Julie inquired further we learned that Tunica was fascinated by the Coridians and stories of far-off cultures and places. She thoroughly enjoyed her work there and planned to stay with it until she no longer did.
“What will happen then?” Julie asked. “Will you just walk away?”
Tunica looked at Julie rather strangely and said, “Of course not. I would let them know I wished to move on and I would help them find and train someone to take over my responsibilities.”
“So you do have responsibilities,” I said? “You don’t just show up when you want and do what you want?”
“No silly, I coordinate with Trikki who organizes the maintenance of the enclave, just like I coordinate with Erdo who manages the restaurant where I want both of you to join me for dinner. Actually there will be a whole bunch of my friends there that I would love to introduce you to. Our local Rik-Tor team has a match with our strongest rival today and everyone will be excited to talk about it.”
“So you’re going to watch the game from the restaurant?” I asked.
“No, of course not,” she said. “Everyone usually finds a quiet place to watch it virtually and then we will all get together to discuss it. The restaurant will be busy but since I devote several fourthdays a month to helping out there I am sure we can get a table…
“There. We have our reservation,” she stated after a moment.
All of this conversation was taking place as we walked from building to building and through canopied areas full of tables, chairs, and Stigerians sipping tea or in some cases demonstrating goods and products.
It was as if time had come full circle; I could have been looking at a marketplace in ancient Mesopotamia except that it wasn’t noisy, crowded, or dirty. Simple and clean were better words. The feel of trimmed grass and smooth stone under our feet complimented the clean feelings. The lack of any dust combined with a slight breeze made for a cool and pleasant afternoon. I felt more like I was at a picnic party in the neatly trimmed backyard swimming pool patio of my favorite Dean at school than I did a market bazaar in an ancient city.
The most striking difference though was the lack of much color. Most of the city seemed to be colored in pleasant but dull shades of white, beige, or light-grey. Even the universal form fitting clothing of the population was in these drab colors.
She eventually showed us to a set of rooms that had been set aside for our team. Iron Jaw was setting out front talking with one of his men and we could see other team members coming and going from the equivalent of patio doors that opened onto a central courtyard. Like everyplace we’d seen on Stiger there were plenty of plants; flowerbeds and trellises adorned the area. We were told that since these residences weren’t currently being used we could stay here as long as we liked.
Tunica left us to rest up as she went to watch her game (or experience it virtually or however it was she enjoyed it).
Everyone from our team seemed to have the same impression; the Stigerians were curious about us and once the ice was broken were incredibly friendly.
A number of the scientists had spent time with some of the locals and Dr. Beckham was able to explain something I’d been curious about; the lack of artwork. In all the cultures I’d ever studied the artwork of a people can give great insight into their thinking, values, religion and history. Yet there were no paintings on the walls. There were art nooks in the walls but no sculptures. The interior walls of our rooms were a pleasant but uniformly bland color. I had not expected to find any of these things on the Noridian ship but I was very surprised not to find them in the city; until Dr. Beckham gave us the answer…
“It’s their bioware,” he said.
He’d been given a tour of a local art school. “I don’t know if I was more embarrassed from thinking they were trying to play some kind of joke on me or if they were from not realizing I wou
ldn’t be able to see all their creations.”
Apparently g Human artists (at least on Stiger) did their work almost exclusively in the virtual world. I was assured that if I carried my own bioware I’d be able to see all of their creations; that the streets and building walls would come alive for me.
I asked him a question that had been formulating in the back of my mind and he confirmed it. “Yes, Dr. Spencer. The artists I met were all women.”
ΔΔΔ
The next morning found Julie and I once again walking through the city with Tunica and some others. This time Toni had joined us; at least until I’d sent her away.
Dinner in the restaurant the night before had been easygoing; the Stigerians were all friendly. The food was good and while everyone was obviously enjoying themselves a good part of the conversation was simply over our heads.
If you’ve ever been in a foreign country and are trying to listen in on a conversation with a group of people in a language you’ve only recently learned you probably have a good idea of how we felt; I was kind of following along until I’d reach a point where I realized the conversation had changed direction several sentences ago (and I’d have to listen very carefully to try and catch back up)…
Their team had won and that certainly added to everyone’s overall excitement but the recounting of individual moves or plays in the game meant nothing to me. It helped a little once I realized that there was an audience participation component - somehow Tunica and her fellow fans could influence the course of the game with their combined will as expressed through their bioware. It was the ultimate in fan participation and I could easily understand how fan loyalty was enhanced.
All in all it had been a pleasant and thought provoking evening.
We were in yet again some type of outdoor market; people were clearly making transactions of some kind. Some goods were being exchanged but it still felt more like a giant tea party than it did a marketplace.
In one sense the Stigerian people didn’t really know how to respond to us because we didn’t have bioware; without it they couldn’t identify us or sense us coming. We would walk through the crowd, if you could call it a crowd, and experience the normal shuffle and accidental bumping of bodies.
Tunica seemed to have a slightly easier time, probably because with her bioware other people both sensed and saw her coming.
The Coridians, however, also had bioware and it caused the Stigerians to act very differently; people made way for them.
The Stigerians didn’t lower their eyes or bow or show any other signs of subservience but just the same the deference was there.
When I finally realized that we weren’t going to get a true Stigerian response as long as Toni was with us I asked her to accompany some other members of the team as they were spreading out on foot across the city. She understood. I think.
Tunica was introducing us to a merchant or friend that was sitting at a small round table outside of what I would swear was a coffee shop. Maybe it was because alien males were slightly effeminate and he was sitting at a small round table that I had a sudden vision of a French street café. Anyway he seemed politely interested in where we came from and didn’t try to sell me anything.
I had just mentioned that I recognized the soft music coming from the café and that Tunica actually reminded me of the girl in that Chevy van; she was in mid-laugh when a searing sliver of light shot out from between her breasts. Her face registered not pain but confusion as she looked down at the already dying flame that was coming from the charred nickel sized hole in her chest.
She hadn’t hit the ground before a similar hole was burned squarely in the middle of Dr. Tanaki’s chest.
There was no time to think and I grabbed Julie’s arm and dragged her to the ground with me. All hell was breaking loose around us. People were dropping like flies and I had no idea who was shooting at us.
I knew we were being shot at because you could hear the little burps that must have been the plasma bolts being fired from some type of gun but I still couldn’t see who was doing the shooting.
Just then an unbearably brilliant flash of light came from the end of the valley and was accompanied momentarily by what sounded like a massive sonic boom. I realized immediately that this was originating from several miles above the city just about where we’d landed our ship.
I truly thought we were going to die. You see the visualizations in the movies of an atomic blast; light so intense that you see images through your eyelids. We literally bounced with the shock wave that must have broken every piece of glass in the city and in the small moment separating the shock wave and the firestorm the only thing I could think of was pulling Julie’s arms and legs tighter underneath me.
The heat wave arrived but didn’t melt our skin away. I looked up and through the afterimage still blurring my vision I saw that there was no mushroom cloud.
No one was left standing. Correction; less than a hundred yards from us someone dressed in black was staggering back to their feet. I couldn’t make out exactly what he was holding in his left hand but it sure as hell wasn’t a First-Aid kit.
I have always been blessed to make quick decisions; events don’t paralyze me. I quickly pulled some glass from Julie’s hairline and checked to make sure she was ok and then urged her along with me as we crawled away from the gunman at an oblique angle.
We had just reached the closest building in our path when my earpiece chirped and I heard the sweet voice of Iron Jaw issuing instructions. “Ok everybody listen up. Our communications may be compromised so use only for emergency. We have three gunmen on foot inside the city boundaries acting independently of each other. Able Team, I want you to help shepherd all our civilian team members to the side of the city we designated south. Find a structure to secure everyone in but do not announce your position. Baker Team, form a defensive front between that side of the city and the gunmen’s most likely approach. Charley Team, take those bastards out. Reynolds out.”
∆∆∆
Shit.
Major Reynolds and the rest of the military team had given us what I thought was a pretty standard speech just before we disembarked from the ship. It included procedures for getting lost or getting hurt. It also included the arbitrary appointment of directional coordinates.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Our designated point of rendezvous and sanctuary was due south. The problem was we were on the ‘north’ side of the city.
I knew that we weren’t totally alone; there had been other team members relatively close to us when the shooting had started… if they were still alive.
From the corner of the building I looked back to find our stalker. I was just in time to watch him lob some type of explosive into the area we’d just crawled away from. The blast was accompanied by a few screams and I ducked my head as debris rained down around me. As I raised my eyes three people – I couldn’t tell if they were Stigerians or Earthers – stood and ran.
He reacted instantly and fired from the hip; his gun burped three times in quick succession. Scarier to me than his reaction time was the accuracy of his shooting. He didn’t miss.
Our gunman started walking in our direction again and I looked around for anything I could defend myself with. I grabbed a baseball sized piece of rock or building that must have come dislodged and tried to figure out what possible good it could do me.
I looked over at Julie and almost panicked when I saw all the blood running down the side of her face. Then I remembered the glass I had cleared and that scalp wounds always bleed like crazy and look worse than they really are. She wasn’t panicking and she calmly told me she’d be fine. In a way that I don’t think I’d ever be able to explain to anyone she looked more beautiful right then than I’d ever seen her. All I know is that I had an overwhelming urge to protect her.
I looked around for another place to retreat to but the nearest other building was across a large stretch of open ground. I doubted we could make it before our assailant round
ed the corner and gunned us down.
I realized I was hyperventilating just as I saw the most amazing thing. From what must have been a suicidal 30 yards behind him one of our military popped up from behind a trellis and some broken chairs and started sprinting full speed towards the back of the armed gunman.
It was like time had slowed to a crawl; I was frozen in place.
20 yards.
I think the gunman saw me; he stopped walking and stared in my direction.
10 yards.
I had just recognized Lt Jerry Pearson from Major Reagan’s security staff; arms pumping; totally focused on reaching the gunman before…
The gunman must have heard him; he spun around and the gun burped. Lt Pearson’s momentum slid his lifeless body to a stop just a few feet away from his enemy.
At that same moment two things happened. I stood up and launched my rock – Julie later told me I’d screamed a primal yell through the entire sequence – and racing in from the left side of my vision was yet another one of our military boys.
Here Comes Earth: Emergence Page 21