by G. Howell
“That’s better?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
Ears flicked back and then erect again. “Ma’am,” the Rris replied calmly. “It’s ‘Ma’am’.”
“Oh,” I said. “Sorry.” I think Shyia briefly closed his eyes.
“You really can’t tell, can you?” one of the ones before me said.
I swallowed. “Apologies. I’m still not... I haven’t spent my life amongst Rris. I didn’t grow up with your kind. I thought I was getting better, but I’m... I’m still learning. I think you’d have problems telling my kind apart.”
“Huh, yes, your kind. There are others like you?”
“A.”
“Where?”
Surely they’d been briefed on that? Was there a reason they were bringing it up? I carefully waved a shrug. “I’m not sure. I’m not sure how I came to your world.”
“Our world. What does that mean? That you’re from the moon perhaps?”
I glanced at Shyia. “I’m... not sure it’s like that.”
“You’re not sure of a lot. Explain.”
“Ma’am, there was a theory amongst savants of my kind that I know of. I don’t know the particulars, I am just aware of it.”
“Tell us.”
“It basically says there isn’t just one universe, there is an... an unlimited number of them. Every possible alternative... every decision made at every tiniest moment of time creates a new universe. A universe where this earth never formed; a universe where it was made but life never evolved; a universe where your kind grew to dominance; one where my kind did; a world where I never arrived, one where I... every possibility in between. They called them, ah, parallel worlds. That comes close in Rris words.”
Heads turned as the members of the tribunal exchanged looks. “Other worlds? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Quite a stretch of the imagination, a,” another murmured.
One of them leaned forward, toward me. “Your kind actually has savants? Scholars and the such?”
“A.”
“Did they perhaps mention how would one get from one of these universes to another?”
There’d been theories relating to the composition of the universe; how all of what we perceived as reality, as solid matter, was a foam of sub-atomic knurls of space-time, a multi-dimensional matrix in which all of existence was suspended like insects in amber. As countless blades of grass seen from a distance might be defined as a field or many trees become a forest, those distortions blurred into what we saw as reality. And every one of those elemental tangles of nothing, all were potentially portals tunneling through the substance of existence to other existences.
Try explaining that in an alien tongue in which you’re still not fluent. I felt my brain cringing as I tried to parse the concept and had to tip my hand in a Rris shrug again. “I really... don’t know.”
Ears flickered. “You don’t know?”
“I said that was a theory. I don’t know exactly how I came here. I was walking and something happened. I don’t know what. I remember there was a flash of light and the next thing I was waking up in a place that was nothing like where I’d been. I don’t know exactly what happened. Perhaps I died and this is what happens then.”
That might not have been the wisest choice of words. It rewarded me with a few odd looks from various Rris.
The spokeswoman coughed quietly. “Huhn, this does seem quite remarkable,” she said. “You are aware that other claims have been made that while still... extraordinary, are more... plausible?”
“That I’m from somewhere over the sea? That I might be a spy?” I sighed and glanced at the Mediator Guild Lord. “I’ve heard that before.”
“You do refute it.”
“Of course I do. I always have.”
“And your own claims, can you support them?”
“Prove them?” I asked, not quite sure if I were hearing correctly. The Mediators around the rotunda all watched me, their expressions unreadable as I looked from one to another. “I... suppose the obvious way would be to send a ship to sail around the world until they don’t find anything else like me.”
Stony silence.
“That... is your best suggestion, is it,” said the spokeswoman eventually.
“Hey, I’m sorry, but what would be proof to you? All I have is what I brought with me. I’d have thought some of that would be proof enough. If my people were on this world, you would have heard from them before now.”
“Why would that be? I understand the world is a big place. There are still many places we haven’t explored.”
“But there aren’t many we haven’t,” I sighed. “Look, I’ve dealt with this with Shyia before. My kind... We are more knowledgeable than Rris in many areas. We have traveled everywhere on our world. Everywhere. The continents, the oceans and skies... the oceans are no barrier to us. If my kind were here, you would certainly have encountered them before.”
“So powerful/advanced?” one of the others asked, sounding more than a little dubious. “You aren’t just bragging?”
“Perhaps all those people wanted to talk to me because of my sparkling personality,” I retorted and out of the corner of my eye saw Shyia go absolutely motionless. From the audience behind me I heard a couple of stifled snorts.
The Tribunal members regarded me. “Unlikely,” the spokeswoman said eventually. “But it is a valid point. Ah Ehrasai?”
“Ma’am,” Shyia ducked his head.
“You’ve had experience with this one’s possessions. I’ve heard that they’re quite complex. Remarkably so?”
“Some of them, yes, Ma’am. Some of the items are ingeniously simple in design, but made of materials I’ve never seen before. Others... they could be duplicated, but not fashioned so easily that they are cheap and readily available to all, as Mikah claims them to be. And other devices... the best craftsmen and [mechanicalists] are unable to see how they even work, let alone how they could reproduce them.”
“There are others who can verify this?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Many individuals and businesses who’ve dealt with Mikah recently will.”
“A,” she picked up a sheaf of paper. “I see you’ve already provided a list.”
He inclined his head. “A list of [something], Ma’am.”
“Of course,” she said, laying the document back down. “They’re willing to testify?”
“On issues regarding Mikah, yes.”
The spokeswoman leaned to murmur into the ear of the Rris beside her. That one waved an affirmative gesture and scribbled a note down with a fountain pen while the spokeswoman turned back to me.
“A question: You came here accidentally; you were in need of help. Then why didn’t you ask for it? By all accounts, you lurked on the outskirts of a town and by your own admission, spied upon the occupants. Why didn’t you approach them?”
I’d have thought that was obvious. “Because I had no idea of what was going on. Ma’am, with all respect, Rris look as peculiar to me as I do to them. Especially back then. I didn’t know what they were. You scared me.”
“You never tried to just talk with the people there?”
“I did try. It was never as easy as that,” I said.
“Explain.”
I glanced at Shyia and he looked back impassively. Surely he’d already related my story. So was there a reason he wanted me to explain it personally? “The first Rris who saw me were... criminals, I understand. They spread stories about me to cover their own activities. They called me a dangerous animal. Whenever others saw me, they treated me like one. Every time someone saw me, they ran or shot at me.
“I couldn’t speak Rris, so I couldn’t talk to anyone to tell them otherwise. All I could do was to keep my distance and try and le
arn your speech by watching. There was a winter school where I could watch the classes and learn some words. I thought I might be able to figure out where I was, what had happened to me; at the least learn enough so I could ask for help without being shot. If that’s spying, then I guess I’m guilty.”
“Huhn,” a tribunal member snorted. They didn’t look impressed.
Another said, “Ah Ehrasai, this is all on record, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. The particulars of that case have also been submitted.”
“His claims are...?”
“Accurate, sir. It is as he claims: there were smugglers using a property in Westwater as a transit house. They did see him. They used him as a scapegoat to cover the murder of one of their own people who’d become problematic to them. The locals did come to believe he was dangerous and did react in what they thought was self defense. They tried to kill him. If he hadn’t learned what he had, they most probably would have succeeded.”
“Fortunate for him.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you found his tale about his origins believable?”
“A.”
“Your reason?”
“Its sheer [preposterousness] was one reason. I’m sure a spy could come up with a more plausible story. Also, doctors and life studiers have examined him and found no [something] with anything they’ve had experience with. They don’t know what he is exactly, or where he comes from. They do agree that there is some superficial similarity with apes from Africa. But they bear as much relationship to him as we do to those [jungle] predators.
“His possessions were a more compelling reason. They told of a people who are... very advanced, with knowledge and abilities far exceeding our own. There is also evidence that they are quite obviously aggressive and expansionist. I have no doubt that if they could be here, they would be.”
“A bluff?”
“Ma’am, our best craftsmen can’t even guess at how some of those devices work. If it’s a hoax, it’s one we couldn’t perpetrate. And I would question why anyone would willingly give away samples of their trade secrets.”
“Huhhn,” the chairman rumbled, watching me thoughtfully over a lowered muzzle. “And ah Richtkah; Sir, you refuted this claim quite vehemently with your claims that this outsider was here with an agenda and nefarious intentions. Now I understand you’ve dropped charges?”
“Amended,” the Clan Lord replied. “Based on the more recent evidence constable Ehrasai has produced, I’ve conceded that he is most likely correct: our visitor here is an unlikely spy.”
“What swayed your decision?”
“The constable had an item he said belonged to our absconded guest. It was a library, he claimed, an entire library in a device not much larger than this.” His hands described a small rectangle. “However, he was unable to operate the device. Apparently, it required our visitor to... unlock it. Those claims and the subsequent [somethings] did make me [dubious].”
Overhead, the drumming of the rain had abated. Sunlight – proper daylight - was striking the high windows. The anemic light filtering through dusty glass grew brighter, the dull tones brightening. What’d been dull suggestions of color bloomed as stained glass was illuminated from behind, shining brighter and brighter as the late morning sun climbed. Reds and golds and greens spilled across the room. The Mediators ignored it.
“When the device was unlocked it did turn out to be a library. It contains texts and images, many of them, including moving pictures. While that in itself was remarkable enough, the actual subject of the contents did go a long way to verifying his tale of being a castaway. However, it also reinforces the other charges.”
One of the Tribunal tipped his head and asked, “Our visitor here did in fact open this device?”
“A, Sir.”
“Huhn,” the female said. “We’re going to want to see this object.”
“Understandable. That might take some time however.”
“Why?”
“Apparently it has to... eat?”
Shyia spoke up: “In some regards it’s like a lamp. It has to be refilled periodically.”
“With what? Oil?”
“Sunlight, apparently,” he replied and looked at me. “I never received a suitable explanation as to exactly what it was.”
“You never asked?”
“He did ask,” I impulsively spoke up and inwardly flinched at how out of place my awkward accent sounded in that echoing room. Eyes turned to me. “He did ask. He just couldn’t understand my answer. And I lacked the... vocabulary to perhaps make it easier to understand.”
“Ah. And you could tell us now?”
“I could... I don’t know that it would make any sense. There are... Saying it is like a lamp is... simplistic, but accurate in some ways. To go into more detail means I would have to teach you about many other things just to describe them. There are words you just don’t have. So, it is easier to say it does have to be refilled with sunlight.”
That didn’t exactly elicit a favorable response. I saw some shifting, slight changes of expression and posture that I couldn’t interpret precisely, but Richtkah’s ears pricked up a little. I felt that couldn’t be a good thing.
“Is there anyone you’ve discussed this with?” the Tribunal asked. “Any Rris who might be able to understand it?”
“There’s ah Ties,” I said. “He has quite a lot to learn. But he is... very good at things like that.”
“Huh, ah Ties. He is one of the witnesses, I see. You have a reason to recommend him?”
I shrugged. “He’s an engineer. He’s better with that sort of thing than I am. I... where I come from I was an artists of sorts. I used machines; I didn’t make them.”
“All right,” the female tribunal member blinked at me and then leaned over to mutter something to the Rris sitting at her left hand. He scratched down some notes while she looked back at me. “Claimants, this evidence is important to your cases?”
They both replied, “A.”
“Ah Ehrasai, how long until we can see it?”
“I believe five hours is the correct length of time,” Shyia said.
She looked at me. “Would this be right?”
I gave a small shrug: a habitual twitch of my shoulders. “If there is plenty of bright sunlight, then yes.”
Rris eyes watched me dubiously. Then the tribunal chairwoman slowly closed her hand in an affirmative and looked around at the others to her left and right. When she spoke she raised her voice for the assembly behind us, “Very well. Five hours. This tribunal will reconvene in five hours. We will expect this evidence to be ready then.” Then she gestured to the guards waiting in the wings:
“Now, please remove that one to holding. Treat him as a secure witness. Very secure.”
A susurrus of Rris voices arose from the gallery. Not loud, but encompassing; like the sound of the sea. Around the colonnaded peripheries of the basilica Mediators began to approach me. Rather than be hauled out of there I struggled to my feet myself, wincing as blood flowed back to limbs and bruises. My escort didn’t actually touch me, but they closed around and made sure I headed off in the right direction. I could feel all those eyes watching as I limped out of the pool of sunlight that’d formed in the center of that chamber, a dusty sunbeam spotlighting the cushion where I’d been sitting.
------v------
Secure witness. I sat slumped on the edge of my low cot, my face in my hands. A witness to what? And why did it still feel as if I were a prisoner? This whole thing had something to do with Shyia and the Clan Lord. They were taking opposing sides, that meant that Shyia was disputing something the Lord had done. Something he’s said. And I’d been told that the Mediator’s charter, their authority, depended upon their being concise and accurate. So if one of them were wrong, that
could topple an entire career. But where did I fit into that?
A hand patted my hair. Startled, I looked up at Escheri’s inquisitive features, “Hai, did you hear a word I’ve been saying?”
“What? Oh, sorry. I was... thinking.”
“Ah, that blocks your ears, does it?” she smiled quickly and gestured to the table. There was a covered tray there. “I brought you some food. You should probably eat. I’m not sure when you next chance will be. That was good, this morning though. You were calm and sensible, for the most part. Those remarks you made though...perhaps a bit more respect wouldn’t go amiss. Otherwise, that was a good start.”
From where I was sitting slumped on the edge of the low cot I looked at the tray and then at her. “What’s next?”
She huffed and patted my head again, just like she was patting a dog, then crouched in front of me. “Don’t worry. Just cooperate. It will work out.”
“Work out. I’ve heard that before,” I said. “This disagreement between Shyia and his Lordship, that’s why I’m here? I’m supposed to be a witness? To what?”
Her ears flicked back a bit. “It’s just a few questions.”
“Uh, huh,” I nodded and met her amber gaze. “It’s not just something on the laptop they’re after. You’re keeping me around and not telling me everything, so I’m assuming that there’s a possibility this could go very badly for me. How badly?”
Her expression changed, turning to that stone mask that seemed to be a Mediator specialty.
“That badly?” I leaned back and looked at her staring at me. There was a look in those amber eyes. A wariness as if she’d realized that she was alone in a room with a dangerous animal, but the mask remained. She wasn’t going to tell me anything more about that. If knew that if I pressed, I’d just be stonewalled.