TheTraveler - book 1

by Robin Marienus Miller

  Owsee, "that was a good trip and it only took a few seconds. This stuff is like nothing I have ever had before."

  I said, "yes it's very good. However, it seems to effect Goo da wa differently than us. He said he was gone for hours, or maybe it just seemed that way to him."

  Owsee, "I wonder if the more you use the better the trip?"

  Then he stuck his finger in the jar again and pulled out a small glob then sucked his finger off. He did not seem to be gone any longer than before. So I ate a bit more this time and the trip did seem to last longer, with more intense colors. Owsee said I was back in less than a minute, but it seemed more like a half hour.

  By this time, my mouth was getting very dry. So I got on the intercom with Goo da wa, and asked him for a glass of juice. He brought it over right away and I said to him, "by the way, I am going on a trip tomorrow as far as the third station. Is there anything I can bring you?"

  Goo da wa, "I cannot think of anything right now, but if I do I will let you know."

  I said, "I will be working on a story during the trip. It should have enough pages to it for you to give one away each night, for up to three weeks. If you draw a map of where your place is on the back of each page, then you may be able to draw in new customers from the outing areas."

  Goo da wa, "that's a great idea. It will bring repeat customers as well as new ones. How will I be able to pay you? What would you like?"

  I said, "you just keep teaching people to read. Owsee wants me to teach the whole world you know, so we have to start somewhere. I'm hoping to draw people as far away as the city."

  Goo da wa, "that's a long way for a drink, but maybe not too far for a new story."

  I said, "that's why we need to give them something special."

  Goo da wa, "well you're becoming something special. And as long as you're handed out new stories you will never have a tab here. Just like Owsee."

  I thank him and put a good pinch of fire powder in my juice then topped it off with rum. I took a big gulp and it went down smoothly.

  I then turned to Owsee and said, "I don't think I will stay up all night. I will need at least a few brain cells working in order to fly your ship."

  Owsee, "why? I programmed it to respond well, even if I was out of my head, which has become my normal state of being these days."

  I said, "yeah, for you that may be a way to living, but for me it is an occasion I'm not used to."

  Owsee, "in other words, before me life was no party.

  I said, "you could put it that way."

  Owsee, "so before me you did what you had too, in order to get by and get around. Now you can do what makes you happy. Life can be a party if you're having fun in what you do."

  I said, "I don't know, some of that is true. However, I do not want to do things just because they are fun. I want to feel like I am doing the right thing, and making a difference as well. I guess that's just another thing that makes me feel good."

  Owsee, "and that's why you are making this run. It's not just to put some space under you and give your mind some wings, even though it's just for a few days. It’s because this is the right thing to do, and you will be helping others, that's what makes us human."

  I said, "you're right, about all of it."

  Owsee, "so you're not making the trip just for the money."

  I said, "if it was just for the money I would not be taking fish."

  Owsee, "that's what I am talking about, that's the fun part. It's the danger that gives like a spark."

  I then took a piece of paper and wrote down, "taste death, live life!" Then I showed it to Owsee.

  He said, "yes, that's what I'm talking about. Remember the poem in which you said, there is no delight that can stir the soul like a good fright? But of course I would never let you get over your head or put you in danger."

  I said, "danger is not a problem, as long as it's a fair fight. And as for getting in over my head, I've always been good at floating."

  Owsee, "that may be true, but we also need to think about the ones around us. When it comes to war the ones that started it are not always the ones that end up hurt."

  I said, "that's a good one, you should write it down for the jar."

  And so he did, while I drank my rum and juice, and wrote one down myself. It was, "walk softly but carry a big stick."

  While waiting for the ink to dry, I said that I thought people once used fine sand to help it dry.

  Owsee, "there is a lot of sand on the other side of the mountain, but is it fine enough?"

  I said, "I think we would still need to grind it up until it's a powder."

  Owsee, "we could use fire powder, ha ha."

  I said, "I just knew you were going to say that, but I don't think we should start using it for that."

  Owsee, "you're right, the powder is just for us."

  I said, "what I really would like to find, or make, is a copying machine."

  Owsee, "how does it work?"

  I said, "you put a sheet of paper in it, and it makes as many copies as you want. It's a lot faster than doing it all by hand."

  Owsee, "sounds good, let's get one."

  I said, "I don't know if we can find one on this side of the galaxy."

  Owsee, "well if you find one, or someone that is willing to make one, I'll pay for it. I'm tired of making copies by hand."

  I said, "we will need one to make all the copies of the books I’m going to write."

  Owsee, "what is a book?"

  I said, "they are stories on paper, but they can have hundreds of pages."

  Owsee, "that's a lot of pages."

  I said, "that's why I will need a copier. With a book, you don't need to pay a storyteller for each story. You just buy the book for the price of a pair of boots and you can read it over and over again whenever you like, for no extra credits."

  Owsee, "sounds like you are going to put the storytellers out of business."

  I said, "there will always be a place for someone that can tell a good story. Besides, most of the storytellers will become writers and the world will know their names. You and I will be known as the first ones."

  Owsee, "you are going to make a writer out of me? I don't think so."

  I said, "you are already a writer, your words are in the wisdom jar."

  Owsee, "those are just a few words, not a book."

  I said, "books are just pages, and pages are just words."

  Owsee, "maybe so, but it sounds like it would take a long time for me to write a book."

  I said, "perhaps, but a book can be reprinted and reread generation after generation. Your words will live long after you are gone, and not be forgotten because someone did not want to pay the storyteller. These are the reasons that drive people to write, even if it takes a lifetime to get the words down."

  Owsee, "sounds a bit like a immortality, I don't know if I could find the words I would want to be remembered by."

  I said, "well, that's always a challenge. You just need to write about something you know, like how to make weed liqueur. You do know how to make it don't you?"

  Owsee, "I can make anything that my father did."

  I said, "okay then, while I’m gone write down how to make it. Make a list of things like: How to pick the right buds, do I need to separate it from the seed, do I grind it up, how to ferment it, do I put something in it, how to cook or distil it, how to store it in a bottle or keg. Pretend I am a child that needs to know every detail. This could be the first chapter of your first book. Just write things down as they come to you, then put them in order later. This is your first writing assignment, have something ready for me when I get back."

  Owsee, "I don't know if I'm ready to write something so long, there are still a lot of words I don't know."

  I said, "you could probably tell me all there is to know in less than an hour, all I’m asking is that you write it down."

  Owsee, "I'll write down as much as I can, and we will leave it at that."

 
I said, "that's all I'm asking."

  I finished off my drink and make another one. Then packed my pipe and lit it as a few members of the band showed up and started to play.

  It was only a drummer and a man with a horn but they were good. Goo da wa lit the center pit for more light, and the place started to feel like a party.

  Owsee and I kept the privacy screen up so no one would know how wasted we were.

  I rested my eyes as I thought about the trip I would start tomorrow, the people I would meet and what I would say to them.

  I then opened my eyes and realized I had fallen asleep, and my body was stiff all over. Owsee was at the other end of the bar talking to Goo da wa. The band had gone home and there was only a few men left in the bar.

  I got up to stretch, took a sip of my drink then went to the other end of the bar and said, "how long did I sleep?"

  Goo da wa, "most of the night, it will be daylight soon."

  Owsee, "don't feel bad, I took a nap myself."

  "Can you make me one of your meat sandwiches?" I asked Goo da wa.

  He said, "sure thing, coming right up."

  I said, "did Kitty come by last night while we were out cold?"

  Owsee, "no, Goo da wa said no one came by while we were out."

  I said, "good, I don't want kitty to see me like that."

  Owsee, "it was only a nap, she takes him all the time. And besides I think you need it, I think we both did."

  I said, "oh, I hope I never get more messed up than I was last night."

  Owsee, "it's not possible, you pass out first."

  I said, "and yet I don't feel that bad."

  Owsee, "you were mixing your drink, it was the fruit juice that helped."

  I said, "it’s good juice."

  Goo da wa, "here is your sandwich."

  I said, "that was fast."

  Goo da wa, "Owsee tells me you were going to find or make a copier."

  I said, "we are going to try at least."

  Goo da wa, "it sounds like a handy thing to have."

  I said, "yes, we are going to need one, or two."

  Owsee, "two?"

  I said, "yes, we don't want to stop working when one breaks down, and they will, from time to time. I just hope we can find an engineer from this planet to work on it, interplanetary house calls could be costly."

  Owsee, "we have not even made it yet and he is thinking about it breaking down already."

  I said, "I do a lot of what-if thinking. It keeps me from being surprised when things don't go my way."

  Goo da wa, "Owsee tells me you gave him some homework to do until you get back."

  I said, "yes I did, and not to leave you out of it I want you to write me a short story about what it takes to run a bar, as well as how you got into it. And while you're at it, how you make the best meat sandwich I have ever tasted."

  Goo da wa, "I will not give away the secret to my meat sandwich. But I will write down some things about what it takes to be a bartender and how I got started."

  I said, "do you see Owsee? Just like kitty, they find something we love and keep it a secret."

  Goo da wa, "so you will keep coming back."

  Owsee, "even last night when we thought kitty may be late in getting home we thought of coming up here to get a sandwich."

  I said, "you're right, he has us by the taste buds."

  Owsee, "I have been thinking about the scanner at the clinic. We could reconfigure it to do a surface scan of a sheet of paper with writing on it, and replaced it with a blank page to make copies."

  I said, "it may work, but I don't like the idea of messing around with the doc’s equipment. It's just not meant for that kind of thing and it can't be replaced."

  Owsee, "you're right, I should check every engineering school on the planet to find someone that can try to build our copier. It will take up all my time, and I probably will not be able to write a word until I get an answer."

  I said, "as your friend I laughed, as your teacher I will be disappointed in you, and that is all I will say."

  Owsee, "well maybe I will have time to put down some thoughts I can put in order latter, I'll work on it."

  I said, "good for you, all I ask is that you try. Hey, I have one for the jar. “A buried treasure will bear no fruit."

  Goo da wa, "I like that one, I'll write it down."

  I took a sip of my juice and said, "you know the one thing I miss about Earth is having a cup of coffee in the morning. 30 years in space and more planets that I can remember, yet none of them had anything like it. But the fire water is close, yet it doesn't have that rich taste. By the way, Goo da wa, how late do you stay open?"

  Goo da wa, "I never close, but most people leave before Sunup."

  I said, "so you sleep from then until afternoon?"

  Goo da wa, "I don't sleep the way you do. My race just rest or meditates for hours on end, not moving but still aware of our surroundings."

  I said, "I do that myself sometimes, but only if I'm alone."

  Goo da wa, "yes, we must be alone. We have a saying, it's hard to stare at the universe when someone is typing your shoulder."

  Owsee, "I like that one, let's put it in the jar."

  Goo da wa, "most people will not know what it means."

  I said, "you're right, let's keep that one for ourselves."

  And I walked to the entrance to the cave and looked at the two moons that were just about gone from the night sky. I took a deep breath of the fresh air that would soon have the scent of dawn on it.

  I sat on a rock and looked at the stars well lighting my pipe.

  So was this it?" I said to myself. Was this as far as I would ever go? What more could I hope for than this? How could I leave all of this just to see what was past the next star? Perhaps I no longer needed to be star gate hopping in one direction only. If I had been born here I may not of gone to the stars in the first place. Have I spent 30 years in space only to find I should have been born here to start with. Or was it the journey that made this the right place all along?

  Then one of the men from the bar put his hand on my shoulder as he passed and said, "goodnight teacher."

  I said, "go carefully."

  I turned to see two more leaving that said, "goodnight teacher." I also told them to go carefully.

  There were still two more at the bar with Owsee and goo da wa. They were looking over the jar of wisdom and found something I have wrote that had a silent vowel in it.

  One man was saying we didn't need letters that have no sound to them. The others said that if we are going to learn it, let's do it right.

  I walked over to the bar and said, "I hear you're talking about silent letters. I don't understand them myself, and in the future I would like to try not to use them. But there are words I just don’t know how to spell any other way."

  One man said, "what if we want to write to others of your race, should we not understand the extra letters?"

  I said, "well I don't understand why some of those letters are there. But if you want to write earth and asked them, it should only take about 10 to 20 years to get a reply. That is if anyone on Earth is still using English anymore."

  The man said, "I know this is important, but I'm not sure why yet."

  I said, "before long I will start to write books with hundreds of pages to them. And some of those words will have silent letters to them, because that is the only way I know how to spell them."

  The other man said, "why not put it on a recorder?"

  I said, "because there is wisdom to be found in silence."

  I then went back to the table at the other end of the bar and put the security screen up. I sipped my drink and looked outside at the night sky through puffs of smoke.

  A few moments later Goo da wa was nailing a piece of paper up on the ear-wood on this end of the bar. It read, "winner of this week's words of wisdom," and under it was a piece of paper with the words, "there is wisdom to be found in silence."

  I took it
as an apology for putting me on the spot about writing.

  Day 9

  I took a little nap, only to be awakened by Owsee saying, "the sun is up, let's get some breakfast."

  I stood up and cleared off the table by putting the empty mugs on the bar, and started to walk with Owsee. I turned to say goodbye to Goo da wa, but did not see him. The sun was just up over the hills, and I saw only one bird in flight to the lake for a morning drink. As we walked, I thought about all the little things that still needed to be done before I could take off.