Eetoo

by Robby Charters

  Today's the day Tsaphar is supposed to come so I can teach her to smoke a beehive. I expect she'll have to finish her studies first -- probably not long now. I keep looking about for her.

  There's a little brook that goes through the wooded area into the lake by their house. I lead the sheep there for a drink sometimes. I'll do that now to show Nakham.

  We're there now. There's a small pool here where I sometimes go for a dip. I've already shown Nakham how to go about and make sure none of the sheep get lost in the woods. He's getting good at that.

  The sheep drink. Nakham jumps into the pool just upstream. That frightens the sheep a bit. They settle down again.

  I wouldn't mind going in myself, but not with all the sheep here. We'd better get them back to the pasture.

  Here's Tsaphar.

  'Hello, I followed the footprints.'

  'Hi. We get sheep back to grass, then we go to beehive.'

  We do that. Then, we go and get the poll, the string and other stuff I've prepared and take it along. I tie the branches to the end of the poll. We light the branches.

  I'll let Tsaphar do it while I tell her what to do.

  She's holding the poll up. I tell her not to get it too close at first, just under the beehive so the smoke goes up all over it.

  'Move it here then there -- like that.' I pull the poll back and forth to show her. She's doing okay.

  'That's enough now.'

  We climb up to the branch where the beehive is hanging. She's a bit scared of it. I egg her on so she takes hold of the branch and breaks it off.

  We jump down to the ground, and shake the sleeping bees off with a stick.

  'Take it home?' I ask.

  'No. Let's eat it here. Let's go to the pool where you watered the sheep.'

  We go.

  We're sitting about eating the honeycomb. There's a rock with a dent in the top that catches the honey. We pick up the honey with broad leaves rolled up like spoons.

  'Don't tell my brothers I came here, okay?'

  'Okay.'

  'They think I'm visiting my friend, Rasha.'

  She starts talking to Nakham. I think she's threatening him if he says anything.

  'How do you talk in Akkadi?' I say.

  'You want to learn Akkadi?'

  'Yes.'

  'Well, how about -- er -- shalem. That means "hello".'

  'Shalem.'

  'Shalem.'

  I say it to Nakham. 'Shalem.'

  He smiles and says, 'Shalem.'

  We all laugh.

  'What's "sheep" in Akkadi?' I ask.

  One of them's followed us here.

  'Bazon,' she says. 'Zeh bazon -- that means "that's a sheep." If you want to say, "what's that?", you say "ma hazeh?" Say "ma hazeh?" I'll answer you.'

  'Ma hazeh?'

  'Zeh bazon.'

  Now I'm pointing at everything and saying 'Ma hazeh?' and they're giving me the words for this and that. This is fun! We're having a great time.

  Tsaphar's enjoying this.

  Suddenly she remembers she has to get back.

  They go.

  7

  Heptosh thought he had all he needed. He had bought salt and a few spices from one of the stalls, some extra power cells, a few parts for the carrier, a packet of spare hexagon switch-pins for the computer, some fish, fish sauce, other things only available at this market once a week -- what else?

  His wife would have insisted he take along a slate with all the items listed. He had always thought his own memory was good enough to do without one. In the years since she passed on, he was beginning to think she had a point, but he still couldn't be bothered.

  Coourzt beverage? He could see the stall operated by his neighbours. Rav and Shav were busy at it.

  Better to get that from their shop in their own neighbourhood. Better price there, and less to carry home. But he might pause for a drink of one of their more special blends. Their stall was close enough to the green area to facilitate the customers that wanted to enjoy a drink at one of the stone tables.

  The tables were of various sizes. Some tall, some low to the ground, some with seats for humans and other similarly shaped beings, some with perches. The perches went with the taller tables, but one or two of these had a combination of perches and seats, Some reachable by steps.

  'Friend Heptosh!'

  It was Neuryzh, perched at a tall table.

  Heptosh ascended the steps to the seat next to him. There was enough room on the seat to set his basket down.

  Rav and Shav were within calling distance. 'Rav! Bring me a cup of your manx herb mix!'

  Rav gave him an affirmative wave, and went to work.

  'Your human system of commerce brings a lot of life to the central town. Brilliant scheme! It gives us other beings incentive to get out once in a while, as we can always be sure of meeting a wide assortment of our acquaintances.' After nearly two centuries of human interaction on Tok, Neuryzh still treated it like a novelty.

  Heptosh replied, 'For us humans, I'm never sure if it's a blessing or a curse. For you non-humans, you don't take it so seriously. You could live indefinitely on what you live on, but money and commerce -- for us, it's our life. It's our way up the social ladder.'

  'True. I'm amazed at how much power it has over humans.'

  Heptosh had had similar conversations about this on other occasions. Non-humans had such extensive memories that they were capable of maintaining a credit debit system inside their heads -- not based on any numerical values whatsoever, as humans thought of them. Humans needed gold and silver coins to count their value on.

  'I've learned from you how to step back and get a broader view of things,' Heptosh said, 'but I'm sure you know that when the Toki government started the policy of giving all non-human visitors a gift of 100 gold pieces to spend and enjoy, some of us went bald tearing our hair out!'

  'Has it not helped your economy?'

  Shav brought a flask of coourzt. Heptosh thanked him.

  'It has. I can see that in retrospect. I wish some of our other human communities could gain the same experience. I'm sure that taking things a bit less seriously would help no end in the issue regarding the Indigenous Nephteshi Federation.'

  'How is that coming?'

  'I've been asked to travel to Grogopti in a couple of weeks to meet with some of the rebel leaders from Imtep.'

  'Since when has that been an issue for the Human Affairs Department?'

  'Since he planet Imtep broke up into separate nation states co-existing on the same planet, thereby dissolving the planetary government. It's therefore a Human Affairs responsibility.'

  From his high seat, Heptosh had a good view of the whole market. From here he could tell the economy was indeed doing well. As though to illustrate the point made earlier, one quarter of the shoppers were non-human. The human portion was an even mixture of dark coloured Nefzedis and the lighter Akkadis.

  There was the slender reddish figure Fra the Tzozk in the distance towering over humans heads, holding a basket of his unusual assortment of goods. What would he be planning for his supper today? Salted fish with sugared cherries? Beans soaked in turpentine? He was slowly walking this way. He'd probably stop at the b'n Shammah coourzt stand before joining Heptosh and Neuryzh at their table.

  Coourzt was the one consumable that humans and non-humans alike enjoyed. That fact was, no doubt, good for the b'n Shammah family business. They even profited from their sale of guruñdz, only palatable to non-humans.

  But Rav didn't look too happy just now. He was shouting something at -- was that the son of Dr. Taknen? He only gave Rav a look and went on. Then Rav shouted again. Heptosh couldn't make out what he was saying. This time, the doctor's son turned, walked up to him and gave him a meaningful push. Shav came and stood with Rav, his fists ready for action.

  Another Akkadi looking boy came and stood by them. It looked like trouble.

  But there was their mother, Sharai b'n Shammah, making her way through the c
rowd, followed by her daughter and her youngest son. She simply took Rav by the ear and dragged him back to the stall. Heptosh could tell she was giving him a verbal beating. The son of Dr. Taknen simply turned and moved on.

  Neuryzh broke the silence. 'How's the young human from Kalodzu-Famta?'

  'He's a slow learner. Very frustrating. I've been trying to teach him the computer. He's never been taught to write, so that's one obstacle. His reading ability consists only of the ancient Hieroglyphics. As for numbers -- '

  'Did his culture have no use for writing?'

  'He was only taught to read so as to decipher their ancient texts, which are, of course, in Hieroglyphics. Actually, that's the only reason he knows Nephteshi to begin with. Apparently he spent a lot of time reading and memorising the texts, so he was able to pick up the spoken language. And Hieroglyphics don't lend themselves to writing, like our modern Nephteshi alphabet. Other than that, he seems pretty useless for anything but minding his sheep. How he's going to scour the galaxy for those tablets --'

  'It will take time.'

  'Also, he doesn't take care of things. He leaves dishes lying about, he threw out one of my finest dishes with the rubbish. He doesn't seem to have a sense of the value of things, like the computer, and the carrier. He ran that into the ditch while I was giving him a lesson, and seemed quite oblivious to the damage he caused. When doing lessons on the computer, he constantly presses down too hard on the writing surface. Some of the pins have gone bad, so I had to buy more.'

  'Does he seem happy?'

  'It's hard to tell what's going on inside his head. He spends a lot of time with his sheep. It's good to get him out of the house, at least, but even then, he's made friends with the neighbours. Namely, the b'n Shammah boys -- those idiots whose antics we've been witnessing for the past five minutes.'

  'They brew good coourzt though.'

  'That's the only good thing I can say. If it weren't for their mother, they'd be a band of scoundrels.'

  'Couldn't that be said of anyone, without the input of a mother?'

  'Hah! The Akkadi; if you offend one, you've made enemies of their whole clan! The working class on Nefzed was that way. That's why they moved like a herd towards taking bionic implants. I'd rather Eetoo stayed away from them altogether.'

  'But they might be the kind of friends he needs.'

  'What he needs is someone to teach him to think for himself, not as part of a herd.'

  'Being from a tribal culture, that may be what he's used to already. Would it be wise to try to force him too soon into the mould of the Nefzedi individualist? He might break from too much stress. After all, individualism isn't a natural human trait. Even in cultures where it seems the norm, it requires consistent education to maintain.'

  Heptosh thought for a while. 'You could be right.'

  'I've heard good reports of Mrs. b'n Shammah. You indicated that he could use tutoring in numbers. Sharai could be a good teacher in the art of commerce.'

  'The only complaint I have against against Akkadi women is they're surrounded by Akkadi men.'

  'So, send a Famtizhi man among them and see what happens.'

  'I'll do just that.'

  Fra was approaching. He had ordered his cup from the b'n Shammah coourzt stall, and he stepped to a high bench next to Neuryzh and Heptosh.

  A Tzozk's knees bend in the same directions as a human's, so they likewise sit with their bottom resting on a bench. That's about where their resemblance to humans ends, as each limb of their upper body has a shell along the outer side, with soft skin covering the portions that rests against the body. Their backs, shoulders and crowns are likewise of hard reddish shell, resembling that of a crab. However much of the lower body is covered by similar shell, is obscured by the flowing toga that is hung from one shoulder, and wrapped about the waist. Each section of shell that is visible, has a row of spines that looked as though they could be put to good advantage if they were to get into a fight. However, frequent fighting wasn't in the nature of the Tzozk.

  'Friend Fra, what's new on the planet today?' said Neuryzh.

  'We may be making room for half a dozen Groki in the near future.'

  'Groki?' Heptosh failed to completely suppress the horror in his tone of voice.

  'There's no tangible reason to forbid them. Galactic protocol states that we must receive them in moderate numbers if there is no foreseeable disruption to our life here.'

  Neuryzh added, 'And, who's to say that it must necessarily turn out for the worst?'

  'Nevertheless, I'm not happy,' said Fra.

  'What's their reason for coming?' asked Heptosh.

  'Business interests, they say. That could mean anything. Galactic protocol also requires us to accept that as a reason, lacking any evidence of intent of malice.'

  'Of course, the reason for protocol is our tendency to automatically suspect such things, isn't it?' observed Neuryzh.

  'The Groki are distant cousins of the Utz,' said Fra. 'What would you expect, Friend Neuryzh?'

  'Because the Groki are far more numerous than the Utz -- well just look at me! There can't be room for too many people of my size can there! -- I've known more Groki than I have my fellows. We do tend to live longer, so I have known several generations of Groki. They have changed over the centuries. I've known some remarkably pleasant and outgoing Groki of previous generations. I have no doubt that some might remain, although I have yet to meet them. Again, I'm prevented by galactic protocol from giving in to any cynicism regarding the matter.'

  'I think that's about as close to being cynical as I've ever heard you,' said Fra.

  A couple Sozks made their way to the table, one with a cup of guruñdz, the other, coourzt. As these reptilians didn't tend to converse in Nephteshi, and their conversation was as likely to be compatible to his human interests as the guruñdz was to his body, Heptosh decided to take his leave.

  8

  the shepherd leads the sheep

  his young companion follows

  Now Nakham teaches me new words every time he comes. I've learned to say, 'drink', 'lead', 'walk' and 'run'. I think I know almost as much Akkadi now as he does Nephteshi. Just talking makes us better friends.

  Tsaphar comes now and then. She teaches me other words that Nakham doesn't think of. Sometimes we can talk. I can understand them if they talk slowly.

  Yesterday was the only day in a long time they both stayed away. Nakham is here now. He said, 'Ha shuk'. I think that's the word Tsaphar told me means 'market', so I guess they must have gone to the big market in town. Usually it's Tsaphar who goes every market day while Nakham stays with me.

  We're leading the sheep to the water.

  Heptosh says he's been to ask Tsaphar's mother to teach me numbers. I'll be starting in a couple days. I guess that means I'll get to go to their house every day.

  I'd kind of like that. I enjoy talking to Tsaphar.

  We're coming to the pool.

  There's Tsaphar now, sitting there with her head in her hands.

  'Shalem!' I say.

  'Shalem,' she says back. She doesn't seem her usual self.

  The sheep are drinking. Nakham is minding them now. I sit beside Tsaphar.

  'You go to market yesterday?'

  'Yeah. I had a horrible time. Rav made a fool of himself again. Rav -- he ...' she doesn't finish.

  'What Rav do?'

  'First, he almost got into a fight with Tash. Then he starts talking to his friend Tsim, then he starts -- Oi! I don't want to talk about it. He's such an idiot! So is Tsim!'

  I wonder what that's all about. I don't get a chance to ask.

  'Eetoo, tell me more about the tablets your Old Man Too Dha keeps.'

  I've told her some of the stories from them already -- such as the story of Red Earth, the first human, and how he and his wife ate a fruit they weren't supposed to eat. This time, I'll tell her song of the seven ages. I say it as I remember it:

  In the beginning, Elkhem made space and matter.

>   But all matter was dense blackness, and formless. And the breath of Elkhem brooded over the the face of the deep blackness.

  Elkhem said, "Let there be energy",

  And the denseness explode into moving particles, and light filled the universe.

  Elkhem then said, "let the light be separated from dark space,"

  So the energy filled particles gravitated towards each other and interacted,

  And the universe was separated into places where day reigned, and places where night reigned.

  Then came the eve of the age, and the second age dawned.

  The Elkhem said, let the particles form units and join to become gases in the midst of liquid ...

  I finish reciting the whole seven ages, all the way to the present age, which is the age of rest.

  'That's a neat song,' Tsaphar says. 'When you tell me those stories, you remind me of my grandmother. She prayed only to the god she called "Yah". All my other relatives and even my father kept all the other gods, but she kept only a small statue of a bull on her altar. She told me some of the same stories about her god that you recite about "Elkhem". I think we still have that bull statue. And "Red Earth", in Akkadi, we have a word that means both "red" and "earth". That's "Adam". She told the stories using the name "Adam".'

  'The Fa-tzi-zhi they sometimes worship the spirits,' I say. 'They say people who build Kalodzu-Famta bring spirits from Red Earth and put them to protect, so people from other villages they pray to spirits of Red Earth. Some villages they have priest, but in our village, Old Man Too Dha keep tablets instead. He say we should worship only one god, Elkhem. The seven laws also say. Some villages, they travel to our village on holidays and listen to Old Man Too Dha read.'

  'Your Nephteshi is perfect when you tell me the stories, but when we talk about other things, you're hardly better than my brothers.'

  'I memorise the stories for many years. I never talk Nephteshi until I meet Heptosh, so I not remember little words to make talking beautiful.'