Journey to the Grassland and Sea

by Robert Matsunaga

  After traveling some distance into the deep and dark mountains that surrounded parts of Himoicum, they came upon the home of Cleiadomph. Strewn across the forest floor were parts of machines that seemed abandoned in frustration, because most of these machine parts were either destroyed or scattered in pieces. They could see and feel these machine parts in the dark as they tried to keep from tripping over them. Tenashar could barely see these objects in the deep shadow of night. Only a bit of light was created by the dim lamps that lighted the path into the mountain forest. As they carefully walked over the barriers on the forest floor, they came across a strange dwelling with Sahaynaivium designs.

  No one was present to open the door of the dwelling—in fact; they couldn’t see any door, for the dwelling was open on all sides. Within, there was an area shaped like an egg that was elongated and extended out into the nearby forest. Part of this egg-shaped room became curiously transparent as they approached.

  Tenashar touched the egg, and a transparent door appeared. Out popped an old scholar whose smile reminded Tenashar strongly of Nainashari. The elderly man’s eyes smiled back at Tenashar and then traveled around to examine all the strange guests at his door. His eyes finally fixed upon Obsiesa, who he knew was a member of the Himoicum council.

  There was a definite awkwardness in addressing a scholar because they were highly respected in Sahaynaivium society.

  Feiadysium intervened. He made a slight bow, and with a nod of his head he introduced Obsiesa to Cleiadomph. Cleiadomph and Obsiesa came together without any of the lengthy ceremonies normally required when meeting a scholar.

  He told Obsiesa that he was expecting their visit, as Feiadysium had secretly contacted him—but he wasn’t sure of the reason why they had all gathered to meet him. He suspected it had something to do with the oceans and Orbs.

  Welcoming them into his home, Cleiadomph asked them to be seated on the floor. There were cushions on the floor that resembled nautilus shell forms. Every item in Cleiadomph’s dwelling reminded them of either the sea or forest.

  In fact, Cleiadomph was one of the few scholars who originally came from Honazal.

  Cleiadomph was more than a hundred years old, perhaps closer to 180. He was not sure any more. He remembered a time when Honazal was a very different place—when the council was a simple governing body, and the oceans were beautifully calm, and the fish were abundant.

  Cleiadomph said, “In those days, the Honazalians considered the Orbs to be someone else’s problem. The Orbs only plagued the southern seas, or so the stories said.”

  “Did people go back and forth to Sahaynaivium in your time?” Obsiesa asked.

  “I am sorry to disappoint you. There was hardly any communication between Sahaynaivium and Honazal in my time,” replied Cleiadomph.

  What he saw in Cleiadomph’s eyes were deep repositories of wisdom and learning that had accumulated from many years of pain and suffering. He had made these studies to give comfort to the people of Sahaynaivium.

  As Tenashar listened to Cleiadomph and Obsiesa, he saw that Cleiadomph had prominent eyes, bright with intelligence and wisdom. His nose was as tall and majestic as Athtap’s. His upper lip was quite thin, and his lower lip thick, as if they didn’t even belong together. His eyebrows were thick and looked humorous. His dark brown skin hardly revealed any lines of age. This made him appear like an old knotted tree that had floated around the oceans for centuries. He seemed like someone who could be relied upon in times of trouble.

  As everyone sat and faced Cleiadomph, he looked at each one of them and said, “Your plight has interested me. I am aware that you are concerned about the Orbs and the council.”

  As Knode and Marhidium were about to speak, Cleiadomph held up his hand to hold them off. He told them that he had tried to study the Orbs and found no answer. He was neither for Geithelasa or in opposition to her. Cleiadomph believed that the welfare of the people of Sahaynaivium and the neighboring continents was far more important than the schism that existed.

  Similar to Nainashari, he often lived in the forest, studying what made its systems run with the seasons. The difference was that Cleiadomph was very much part of the world, consulting with other scholars, advising the council, and spending time with his only daughter, her husband, and his grandchildren. Yet for the sake of concentrated study, he chose to live deep within the forest to be shielded away from distractions.

  The egg-shaped room wasn’t the only enclosed part of his house. Beneath the ground, there were other living chambers or rooms where Cleiadomph slept, dreaming about the world beyond the forest. It was in his dreams that he made important discoveries. These inner guests or friends always guided Cleiadomph along the path of life. They seemed to be some type of spiritual guides. Some strange unseen force gave Cleiadomph the reasoning and words to create whatever they showed him in his dreams.

  Cleiadomph told them of many of his dreams that he didn’t tell his other guests, but he still had no answer to the problem of the Orbs.

  Osinthaph told him the short version of her story of Asigonth and Shaheel. He was then able to understand what had happened to the Sahaynaivium long ago. After Osinthaph finished her story, a strange feeling of darkness fell over the room.

  Then Cleiadomph explained something that only Knode and Marhidium understood. “Long ago, an artificial brain or being was created to help humanity with both intellectual drudgery and manual labor. The artificial beings that controlled Cashmakil were originally intended to serve humans, though they were many generations higher in status than the first artificial beings, which required humans to build and program them.”

  Tenashar understood none of this. Cleiadomph stared deeply at a viewing tablet on a shelf. He got up, oblivious to anything around him, brought it down, and stared into it for a while. Cleiadomph returned to his cushion and sat down, scrolling through the many words on its surface. He then asked Feiadysium to fetch a book for him. Upon receiving the book, Cleiadomph quickly thumbed through the pages and found something very interesting.

  “You have mentioned a child thing.” Cleiadomph spoke distantly, his eyes on the book.

  Then, as if emerging from a trance, Cleiadomph said there was two ways to have the Orbs cease what they were doing. One was to catch one or all of them and simply recommend their functions. The second way was to find this child thing and somehow neutralize or imprison it where it could do no harm.

  Tenashar asked, “Why haven’t any weapons been used against these Orbs?”

  Cleiadomph replied, “It has been tried, but the Orbs were unaffected by the weapons used against them. If someone attacks an Orb, nothing around is spared. Everything is destroyed—people, animals, and the land. Every type of weapon was once used against them. Some even tried to deprogram them as a way of destroying these Orbs.”

  Hedariad protested that the Orbs continued with their mischief. “I’ve heard that these Orbs behave like flocks of birds, so they must have a leader. Perhaps if the dominant Orb is caught or destroyed, the others will cease their work. Maybe it is this child thing hidden away that controls them and remains elusive. I think it must live within one of the Orbs and that it is being guarded.”

  “Tenashar told us what he saw in his mind. It does not seem rational, but I think what he saw is true!” Cleiadomph’s words were like a command that convinced everyone.

  Cleiadomph said, “It isn’t possible to destroy the Orbs. So an entirely different solution has to be found.” For Cleiadomph, that was the dilemma and total impasse.

  Jarviashar, still sitting in a corner alone, stood and came to Marhidium’s side and said, “I once heard a story that water was a solution to the Orb problem.”

  Marhidium pressed, “Jarviashar, is there any more information?” But the girl had none to give.

  Knode said, “These stories are superstition.”

  Cleiadomph looked at Jarviashar with eyes bright with enthusiasm, as if she had solved the problem.

  He explained, �
�The legends did not literally mean water. These symbolic words meant that if the Orbs were flooded with so much information and enormous amounts of life force, then the Orbs might burst like a bag filled with too much water. Yes, this could mean that if the Orbs were filled with water and electricity, it might destroy its brain.” But Cleiadomph discarded these concepts as impractical.

  “The systems the Orbs used were very different. They were never powered by electricity,” said Cleiadomph.

  Tenashar asked, “What is this electricity?”

  Cleiadomph then gave a brief and complicated explanation about it.

  Marhidium explained it better. “It’s like comparing it to the concept of a life force or spirit; for something to come alive, it needs a surge of energy to work.”

  “I think I understand but not fully,” said Tenashar.

  There were so many strange words that flew back and forth between Knode, Cleiadomph, Marhidium, Obsiesa, and Osinthaph; it was as if they were playing catch ball with words. This was the only part of the discussion Tenashar understood—the throwing and catching of words.

  Tenashar gradually started understanding what was being said. It became easier to grasp, and as he deeply concentrated, this slowly put him into a meditative state. He sat on the floor, enjoying the curving of the morning sunlight as it filtered through the opaque white wall surface of the egg-shaped room. He started to feel that he was inside a real egg. He started to hear the voices of morning birds. Suddenly, it struck him that Nainashari might be the solution.

  Tenashar gradually emerged out of the meditative state and listened to Cleiadomph as he considered the information brought by each member of the group before him. The puzzle was finally beginning to form a picture that had been hidden for so long. Yet he understood that there were many other tasks that had to be accomplished before the world could return to what it once was. Perhaps the world would return to normal, or maybe it had to go through a change to become a better world.

  Tenashar realized that something else had to be considered—what did Geithelasa actually know concerning the true nature of the Orbs? Tenashar wondered why the delegations from Honazal and Sovazal were being delayed? Were the Umharkan emissaries even coming? For a long time, Tenashar had been cautious about the Umharka because he had heard stories about their big ships from Athtap.

  Cleiadomph decided they should call on the other scholars and find out their true intentions. Tenashar knew that it was time for Obsiesa, Hedariad, and Feiadysium to return to the council chamber and to do their best to find more answers. Thitwa, Betaqal, and Siytai wanted to stay with Cleiadomph.

  Tenashar asked A-amar and Una-sei to follow him. Unusually, they desired to remain. Deep inside, Tenashar acknowledged that he was growing independent of them, needing less care and guidance. Even a Sharzeen knew that its duties as a guardian would slowly grow less as Tenashar matured. Perhaps they would always be there for Tenashar when he needed them.

  Marhidium, Jarviashar, and Knode walked together at Tenashar’s side. They were quiet. Cleiadomph led them deeper into the mountains along ancient trails. What could they expect from the other scholars? Would they help? Or would they perhaps deny what was happening concerning the Orbs?

  In an extremely dense part of the forest, they came upon another large building. This one was tall and egg-shaped with a large cube dominating the inner part of the dwelling. Individualistic homes were clearly a rule for scholars. The building was surrounded by naturally dense forest. It seemed utterly primal, as if no human hand had ever touched that forest.

  Lothob was busy tending his friends—the flowers, grasses, and weeds. To Lothob, every plant was precious, so he never cut any, in order to create a human conception of the forest. He gave no indication that he even noticed them approaching; he just continued working on his plants. Lothob was neither tall nor short and was a shade lighter than Cleiadomph. His large, smiling eyes were humorous and friendly. The feature that stood out was his thick full lips and large, almost square face. Tenashar felt sorry for his homeliness. His clothes seemed tattered, as if the result of poverty—but in truth, it was the style of clothes he chose to wear. All the tattered pieces hung in a multitude of colors, almost looking like a Saijezif bird. This puzzled Tenashar.

  Lothob was aware of them and waited. When he had finished tending a flower, Lothob finally looked up and greeted him. Cleiadomph then introduced his friends. Lothob welcomed them and right away said that he knew the reason for the visit.

  Perhaps Lothob had a network of messengers. If this was true, where were these people?

  Tenashar simply asked Lothob, “How did you get the information?”

  “I have a device that brings sound from anywhere without wires or any form of connection,” Lothob replied, though he didn’t explain how the device worked. “You see, Tenashar, it works like the human ear except that it is far more sensitive, built more on the model of a dog’s or bat’s hearing system. The device is still in the experimental stage and being worked on.”

  But this meeting with Lothob was not a social call for friends. They talked urgently about the Orbs. Each person, including Tenashar, added to the information Lothob had already gathered. The meeting wasn’t long, since the sky was becoming overcast and the forest seemed agitated.

  Lothob said, “I will call on the scholars I know are on neither side with Obsiesa or Geithelasa, the ones who could help bring a neutral solution to these problems. It is clear to me that there is already an impasse in the council that had nothing to do with Geithelasa, and I believe that nothing will change unless the true nature of this child thing is discovered.”

  Discussions with the other scholars would have to wait. Knode and Tenashar began to realize that searching for this “child” wasn’t going to be easy. Cleiadomph didn’t have many answers, and neither did Lothob. Tenashar was in deep thought, trying to reason where this child thing could be. There were so many questions and assumptions that entered his mind.

  Tenashar said, “Cleiadomph, you are thinking too much.”

  Cleiadomph warmly embraced Tenashar, tapping him on the shoulders. “Tenashar, as an Aura-Lei-i, I would try to find an answer—and perhaps would know what was really going on.”

  Tenashar looked in Cleiadomph’s eyes with a feeling of bewilderment and anger. He was right that it wasn’t Tenashar’s burden—the problem had to be shared by the whole planet.

  Some thoughts began to plague Tenashar. Did Nainashari have the answers? Was it possible the child thing was Cadica? He immediately dismissed these thoughts from his mind.

  They went back to Cleiadomph’s dwelling to wait until the council called for them again. Lothob had his own gathering of scholars. But he felt nothing could come of this, because the scholars were all perplexed.

  It seemed they spent an eternity with Cleiadomph, without any news of the council or of the delegations from the continent.

  Tenashar woke up from a restless sleep and walked into the forest, slowly pacing around. The dim torch lamps made Tenashar think of the desert world where Cadica lived. What might he have to do to change the course of time and make her world flourish again? Thinking even more deeply about the desert world, he realized he was being egotistical.

  A burst of light suddenly came upon Tenashar—it was as if he was a god or some legendary hero from ancient Senetha. The destiny of the world depended on him. These delusional dreams were ridiculous and seemed stupid to think about.

  The uneasiness of sleep was still in his eyes. Tenashar thought he saw the lamps move. Suddenly the lights became bright and gradually transformed into human stick figures. The stick figures walked toward Tenashar. He almost called out in fear, but a calm, tranquil feeling took over. He became strangely comfortable, as if he were back in his village or in Nainashari’s cave.

  Tenashar thought he heard voices emanating from these stick men, and then he heard a chorus of a thousand voices saying that he was not to be concerned about the Orbs. Voices told him that wh
at he was thinking might not be the truth. The truth was different for everyone. So all truth was irrelevant. The voices emphasized that assumptions were dangerous. The voices gradually faded away, and once again the dense forest was quiet.

  The lights remained though, and Tenashar swore that he saw Cadica and Tansatei’s faces in the flames. Then they faded away. He thought that perhaps Cadica’s world was saved. People of Cadica’s time lived and cultivated their homes with the spheres. Maybe that was the answer. Nainashari was highly skilled in making living spheres. These spheres needed tending. And he had heard from Osinthaph and Cleiadomph that Orbs required tending, just as crops did.

  This “programming” may have been a type of food that the Orbs required. Someone was looking after the maintenance of these machines. Orbs didn’t survive by absorbing the life force alone; their bodies required a machine version of care, much like human bodies. Tenashar thought of the Orbs in terms of living things with bodies and felt that was the way to deal with them. He began to develop the notion that if the food to these Orbs were cut off, and then they would weaken and die. But he didn’t want to believe that this concept would work, because destroying any living thing was murder, and Tenashar understood that in some way the Orbs were living things. There had to be another way.

  When Tenashar started to see the Orbs in this different way, millions of glowing mushroom and rock spirits began to walk and dance. The mushrooms came all around Tenashar. They played upon his lap as he sat down. The air was filled with glowing fireflies. Even Siytai, who slept nearby on the forest floor, was not roused from his sleep as they danced on his sleeping body. A-amar and Una-sei were completely oblivious as the glowing mushrooms played on them.

  Words came to Tenashar that said that the child was close to him and within easy grasp and that child, if not cared for, would fall to ruin, like all the other machines. He was also told that the Orbs would continue for a long time, but that without care, they would eventually cease to function. The mushrooms, like the lamps, started to transform, becoming vertical beams of light that came together and then went out. Looking down upon the ground, Tenashar saw tiny mushrooms glowing dimly. As deep quietness dominated the forest floor, the light of the mushrooms became faint. Had he been dreaming?