30
crystal window offering a panoramic view of the wooded landscape
enter: yawning young adventurer
That was the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. -- Wow, what a view! This place would be great for raising sheep.
It's heavier here than on the planet with the flower city. Tsaphar feels it too.
Here she is. 'Have you tried the bath yet?'
'No.'
'You should! The water is warm, and it flows all about like a waterfall. Just ask the machine thing. It'll show you.'
I find the box with the button and press it. It comes, and I ask it to show me the bathing room.
It doesn't seem to understand me. Tsaphar yells, 'Bath!'
It takes me to a room with a big pool, and water swishing all over the place. It tells me to sit in the corner with the round seat. I take off my clothes and sit down. Tsaphar's right.
I'm sure that if Blazz had seen this galaxy, he'd never have thought humans were like rats and cockroaches.
There's just -- well -- the way they go all gogglie-eyed every time they talk about the emperor.
* * *
Heptosh stood up to greet the gentlemen who appeared through the tele-gate.
'Greetings from the royal court,' said the first one.
'We extend ours, likewise,' said Heptosh, with a bow.
'It pleases His Majesty to extend to you the invitation to join the royal staff as the royal advisor on current affairs of the Milky Way Galaxy. You and your friends will be given a handsome living allowance, and a residence on the planet of your choice.'
'I'm deeply moved by the King's offer,' answered Heptosh, 'But the fact is, we have pressing business in our own galaxy.'
'Unfortunately,' said the second gentleman, 'it's been deemed contrary to the interests of the court to allow you to return. To do so would compromise the security of our galaxy. As it is, no one apart from a select few know the location of the Milky Way Galaxy, and as far as we know, up to now, no one on the Milky Way Galaxy has known the location of ours. We simply can't run the risk of letting you return.'
'We're not the only ones who know,' said Heptosh. 'Others will, no doubt, be following to find out what happened to us if we fail to return.'
'We will deal with that prospect when it arises. Any action we take at that time will be calculated to discourage any further entry into our galaxy. In the meantime, until you give an answer to the royal court, you and your companions will be quartered on this planet.'
The first gentleman said, 'Ixos, the governor of this planet has invited you to lunch at his residence. Please have yourselves ready by noon. Good day to you.'
With that, they disappeared through the tele-gate.
Heptosh sank back into his seat.
Soon, Tsaphar and Eetoo came in. Heptosh told them of the message from the royal court.
Both looked pale.
'We can't go back then?' said Eetoo.
'Not unless we think of something.'
Shan spoke up. 'I can try to see which of the gates may take us close to Thevsos. If we can get there, we could try to get the ship.'
'I'm sure they have the place closely guarded.'
'That is the same ship I gave to you on your first visit to Kalodzuland, is it not?'
'Yes, it is.'
'Then, I'm capable of controlling it from a short distance. If we can simply be somewhere close by, I can make the ship come to us.'
'An idea,' acknowledged Heptosh. 'See what you can do when the time comes.'
* * *
the same window, same breathtaking scenery
but the joy is gone
'Why did you bring me here?' Tsaphar's saying.
We're sitting together in a soft chair looking out the window.
'I didn't know it was like this.'
'They say it's a paradise, it looks like a paradise, but it feels like hell now. The people here are so -- I don't know! I hate it.'
'Me too,' I say.
'Everything's to the glory of that -- that bastard!'
'Why everybody say nothing but good -- as though they worship him?'
'I wish I was at home. Even your planet would be better than this. But that's in another galaxy now. They're going to keep us here -- in this…' She starts crying.
I put my arms around her.
She's better after a while.
31
Heptosh heard the bell and realised that it was probably someone there to fetch them for their lunch engagement. He called the others.
They had on the clothes they had been given the previous day. Their old ones, along with their other belongings were stashed in Eetoo's shepherd bag, which they decided to take along in case they saw their chance to escape.
They gathered in the room with the tele-gate, and an attendant led them through. They found themselves, again in the eight sided room they had come through the day before. The attendant adjusted some levers at the top of the gate frame, and led them back the same way.
This time, they were in a different place altogether. The most prominent aspect was the giant crystal window on their right that showed a very different landscape than Heptosh had ever seen before. Giant creeping vines hung from extremely high cliffs on one side, and a waterfall poured down another section, feeding a river that ran to a sea, visible on the side opposite the cliffs. There were trees -- extremely large ones, but after a second look, it was evident that a few of these were the leafy outcropping of the giant vines. From looking at the shadows, it was either the dawn of the day, or sunset.
A second feature, less prominent than the first, was the elderly gentleman who stood to greet them.
'Welcome to Nevthese,' he said.
He was neatly dressed in white, with far less ornamentation than everyone else they'd met so far.
'Thank you,' said Heptosh. 'Where are we?'
'Nevthese is a natural planet with native vegetation and wildlife, totally uninhabited by human or any other intelligent life, save for this building at which you've arrived. Come, I'll show you around.'
They were in a corridor running along one wall of a round building. The crystal panel on the right composed the outside wall. More of the planet came into view as they followed their host. For a while, all they could see were the rock cliffs, but soon spaces between these showed them the sea again. These were, in fact, giant pillars of rock that seemed to go endlessly up and up until they got lost in the cloud cover. More breathtaking landscape followed.
'My name is Ixos, by the way. I understand you come from the galaxy of humanity's birth?'
'Indeed, we do. My name's Heptosh, these are Friends Eetoo and Tsaphar, and the robotic gentleman is Mr. Shan.'
They came to some steps that descended into a much bigger room, both taller and wider but still panelled on the right side by the view. A table was set for a meal.
They sat down, and robots began bringing various exotic dishes to the table that the guests had never seen nor tasted before. Heptosh thought meat was from some animal he was sure didn't exist in the Milky Way galaxy.
'This is quite a place you have here,' Heptosh commented.
'It's not mine. Besides my duties as governor of the planet where they've put you up, I'm also the game-keeper for this resort planet. The emperor sometimes comes on hunting trips, and so do many other lords and dignitaries. Some simply come to view the wildlife and enjoy the scenery.'
'Lots of good hunting?'
'Oh yes! I could take you all on an expedition sometime. Now, this landmass is safe for humans, but on one of the other continents, you'll find some very large carnivores that could eat a human in a single gulp. Some of the more seasoned hunters prefer to go there. A few have never returned. I never go myself. Those who do are required to bring their own transport. Fortunately, our emperors have been sensible enough to stick with this continent, or we'd be going through them like defective robots!'
The conversation went to other aspects of the planet
, some facts and trivia about this and that.
Heptosh was enjoying the conversation more than any since arriving in this galaxy. Suddenly, he realised why.
As soon as the attendant was off to supervise the robots, Heptosh ventured, 'Mr. Ixos, out of curiosity, why is it you don't append every statement with something about the glory of the emperor, or the dynasty? In fact, you're the first one we've met here who refers to him as a human being!'
'Hah! You've noticed that? I'll let you in on a little secret: they never got around to giving me my bio-media upload.'
'Bio-media upload?' gasped Heptosh.
'I suspected as much,' said Shan.
'I'm, what you call, "safe". I have no ambitions, and I'd prefer to take things as they are and enjoy life. Those people who have had it become so -- what shall I say -- obsessed … er -- I understand you're slated to become the advisor on intergalactic relations?'
'So, they've informed me.'
'Then you're due for one yourself, I'm afraid, and I've already said enough that I would have to do a lot of explaining to cover up, should you suddenly think too much about this conversation after they've instilled unquestioned loyalty in you.'
'I don't intend to accept an upload,' said Heptosh.
'I'm afraid your intentions may not mean very much in this galaxy. Everything, as you've heard, is to the glory of the great Teknesh Dynasty. Your only hope would be to return to your own galaxy.'
'They've said they won't allow that.'
'That's to be expected. Have they impounded your ship?'
'I don't know. We left it at the spaceport on Thevsos.'
'They probably haven't done anything to it yet. Spaceports are hardly used anymore, since they've expanded the network of tele-gates. All they have to do is simply not tell you how to get there. Trying to find it yourself can be quite complicated.'
'It might be worth a try.'
'They'd catch up with you long before you found it -- that is, if you didn't know that the tele-gate to use is the door directly on your right once you arrive on our planet.'
'Simply go through that one then?'
'Oh no! There's far more to it than that! You'd have to know the three digits to enter into the panel at the top of the gate. That, I could never tell you as it would be an act of disloyalty to our great emperor!'
The attendant was returning, accompanied by the robots bringing the next course.
'So …'
'Oh!' said Ixos, suddenly directing their attention out the window. 'Look at that flock of birds. They always fly together in that number, no more, no less.'
Heptosh counted seven giant white birds.
The attendant apparently didn't know that either, so he went to the window to get a closer look.
'Once you arrive at the main tele-gate centre of our planet, you'll find, besides the gates -- I forget, now, how many windows?'
'Err --'
'Now, whatever that number is,' he said hurriedly, 'you can simply double it to get the shape of the room. My chief architect designed it himself.'
He glanced over at his attendant, still at the window, and said in a lower tone, 'Now, I haven't told you anything but assorted facts about some of the birds of this planet, and the shape of the tele-gate centre on our own planet. I can only warn you that if you're caught trying to gain access to the spaceport building of Thevsos, which you could probably only succeed in doing about an hour from now anyway, they would most definitely take you straight to the bio-media upload centre.' His tone got lower and lower, as the attendant began to return to the table. 'If worse comes to worst, you could try to escape to the ground level of that planet. You won't find it pleasant, but you could easily evade them there -- and personally,' he almost whispered, 'I'd prefer life down there to an upload. When you see it, just remember, I know what I'm talking about!'
The conversation went on to other interesting facts about the planet of Nevthese.
Exactly one hour later, they had had their fill and they got up to leave.
'I'll see you to the tele-gate here. Go through it and wait. My attendant will join you in about half an hour, so simply relax and enjoy the scenery through the windows of the tele-gate centre.' As they moved away from where the attendant was supervising the cleaning up, he added, 'While you wait, you may reflect on the number of birds you saw, how many windows there are and the shape of the room, and he'll soon be there to escort you to your abode. Remember -- it's the door on the right.'
They stepped through into the tele-gate centre.
'Seven birds, four windows, eight sides,' remembered Heptosh.
Shan went to the door on the right and adjusted the levers at the top to seven, four and eight. They stepped through.
They arrived in the lobby of the space port. Only one or two people were doing their duties in various parts of the room. The set of desks facing the tele-gate were unattended. So was the counter adjoining the lift. Apparently it was the time of day they didn't expect anyone, as Ixos probably foresaw.
'Do you have any idea how to get out of here?' Heptosh asked Shan.
'No. Perhaps we could see where the lift goes.'
They went to the lift, which was now a round hole in the floor surrounded by a railing.
Shan fiddled with the button box.
'Access to the landing pad appears to be restricted. I can only send it down, though this doesn't appear to go all the way to the ground. However, we could, perhaps find a carrier port.'
He manipulated the box until a round floor panel rose up to meet them. They got onto it, and started down.
'Sirs!' called someone as they descended past floor level.
Heptosh looked and caught a glimpse of a man in an official costume, running towards the lift.
The floor they came to looked like a carrier port. They were parked in rows throughout the big room. These were completely enclosed, not like the ones on Tok.
Shan was looking carefully about.
'The door is there,' he said.
They began walking down the row of carriers.
At that moment a gate opened. A carrier entered, made it's way to an empty spot and stopped. The door slid open and some people got out. The door shut again, as the passengers walked to the lift and went up.
'Can we try one of these?' Heptosh wondered out loud.
'This one looks most suitable,' said Shan.
He manipulated the side of the door with his fingers until it slid open.
They got in, and Shan went to the control box. After some fiddling around, the carrier lifted up to drive position. They could see all about them through the windows.
'Stop! In the name of the King!' someone was shouting from the direction of the lift. There came men dressed in official uniforms.
Shan spun the carrier about and drove it towards the big door.
'Let me see -- here.' Whatever he did seemed to work, as the big door opened.
Behind them, uniformed men were running. Some were getting onto another carrier.
As soon as they exited, the craft sunk down, and suddenly swooped up again.
The other carrier was giving chase. A few others materialised from somewhere.
Shan sped the carrier as fast as it would go. Then, he began to descend. They sunk into the brown mist.
The pursuing carriers were hovering overhead. Below, things began to come into view.
It was a vast city.
32
shadows morph into substance
a world forms itself out of the brown grey depths
masses of four and five storey buildings, as far as the eye can see
grudgingly give way to narrow streets
all the same colour as the clouded atmosphere
which filters out what beauty could have otherwise been
laundry hangs out of every window
drab clothing from every railing - soaking up more of the same colour
while down below, the narrow streets churn with mule carts, people
, children
skin and clothing the same brown grey
So this is what I missed when Neuryzh drove through here so fast. He was right. It's the opposite of beautiful.
There are people down here. Thousands! I don't see how it's possible for so many to live so close together, but they're doing it. Some of them look like they're working. Others are just standing or sitting about.
'Some paradise this is!' I hear Heptosh saying.
They dash out of the way when we come down. Shan's driving this at ground level now, like the carriers back home.
They think the soldiers have lost us now.
Wait -- one of them looks like they've spotted us.
Heptosh thinks we can get away from them better on foot. Shan stops it. We get out.
Whew! The smell!
A lot of people crowd about. They're looking at the carrier, not at us.
A couple of them look as though they're going to take it from us by force.
Heptosh says, 'You can have it.' That seems to do it.
Shan forces a way for us through the crowd. He's very strong.
We walk away quickly and look back from behind a building.
I don't know how they breathe down here!
Another carrier has landed nearby. Some soldiers are getting out.
The people about our carrier are throwing things at them.
I guess the people down here don't like the ones upstairs.
We don't wait to see the rest of it. We just walk as fast as we can down some of the small streets.
This place is filthy! The ground and all the buildings are the same colour as the air, brownish grey!
Some kids are playing in the dirt. They look like rats, not people. Rats and cockroaches! Humans! I get the picture now.
Heptosh says if we can find a place wide enough, and it looks quiet enough, we'll get Shan to bring the ship.
There's still a carrier passing overhead every now and then. Every time they do, people look up and curse. There's plenty of places to hide here, though. But there's one right above us.
We wait under a canopy in front of a shop. A lady is looking at us.
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