by Arthur C.
Because Johann had seen and talked with Satoko, Keiko came to him often to discuss her mother. Sometimes Maria, whose motherlessness had always been part of her bond with Keiko, participated in the conversations. Slowly but surely, as two, three, and then four visits from the adoclyne cleaners passed, a perceptible rift developed in the extended family, Maria, Keiko, and Johann were on one side; Vivien, Sister Nuba, Beatrice, and little Jomo on the other. The seriousness of this rift became obvious one day when another of the petty arguments between Maria and Beatrice escalated into an angry exchange of words between Johann and Vivien.
That evening Sister Nuba, always the peacemaker, identified the dissension in their group as a significant detriment to the children’s growth and solicited suggestions from Johann and Vivien on how to reverse the process that had created the problem. Vivien, plagued by heartburn and the hormonal imbalance of the last trimester of pregnancy, was feeling slighted and ignored by Johann anyway. She was in no mood to compromise. Johann. who disliked conversations about emotions under even the best circumstances, offered nothing substantive to resolve the dispute. In a fit of pique, Vivien moved her sleeping mat away from Johann’s side. At Maria’s suggestion, Keiko pulled her mat into the spot vacated by Vivien.
An unpleasant pall settled over their lives. Maria and Keiko played together, purposely ignoring Beatrice and Jomo. When Johann would not intercede, and force the two girls to play with Vivien’s children, the tension in the room became palpable. Comments that would previously have been considered innocent were misconstrued as insults. When the adoclyne cleaners came again, Vivien was sitting with her two children on one end of the wall opposite the hole, with Johann, Maria, and Keiko at the other end. The dejected Sister Nuba sat by herself in the middle, praying that God would give her the cleverness to resolve the growing discontent among the members of her extended family.
JOHANN WAS SWIMMING a competitive race in his dream. In the lane next to him was his archrival during his three years of international competition, Carlo Lamberti from Italy. They were nearing the halfway point in a two-hundred-meter race and Johann and Carlo, in the middle lanes of the pool since they were the top two seeds, were already a full body length ahead of the rest of the field. Johann executed a perfect flip turn, gathered himself against the wall, and pushed off with all the force of his long powerful legs. He broke the water half a length ahead of his rival.
Johann took one breath on each side before he heard his name being called. He glanced over at the adjacent lane and Carlo Lamberti was no longer swimming there. It was Maria, treading water. Suddenly Johann’s dream venue was not the international pool in Milano; Maria and he were out in the lake near the island where he had raised her.
She grinned at him. “Wake up, Johann,” she said softly. “I need to talk to you.”
Johann opened his eyes and the waters of his dream vanished. Both Maria and Keiko were sitting on their knees near his head. He started to say something in his normal voice, but Maria placed a finger on his lips. “Shh,” she said. “We don’t want anyone else to hear.” She glanced knowingly across the room to where the others were sleeping.
Johann sat up on his mat with a puzzled, unpleasant frown on his face. “There’s something we want to talk to you about,” Maria whispered before Johann could say anything. She looked over at Keiko.
“Uncle Johann, would you take me to my mother? Please, please, please?” the girl said.
Johann shook his head to make certain he had heard correctly. “We have a plan already,” Maria said immediately “One more nozzler patrol will go by tonight. Then there will be plenty of time before the breakfast delivery.”
Keiko leaned toward him and touched his forearm. “I have not seen my mother since I was a baby, Uncle Johann,” she entreated. “I don’t even know what she looks like.”
Johann remained speechless for a few more seconds, struggling to find words that would not hurt the little girl’s feelings. While Keiko was waiting for his response, two big tears eased out of her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks. Johann automatically pulled her to him and gave her a fatherly hug. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he said.
Both girls misinterpreted his words and actions. “I’ll go out to the rocks beside the canal and watch for the patrol,” Maria said excitedly. “I’ll let you know the moment it’s gone:’ She vanished in an instant.
Keiko pulled away from Johann’s embrace and kissed him on the nose. Her eyes were now flooded with tears of gratitude. “Thank you, Uncle Johann,” she said simply “You’re my hero.”
Johann started to protest, to explain that he could not possibly do what she was requesting, but before he could formulate the words that would sorely disappoint her, he heard what he thought was Beatrice’s voice inside his head.
Why not? the voice said. What could be more worth taking a risk than reuniting a mother and her daughter?
Astonishing even himself, Johann began drafting a plan for their sortie, sharing it with Keiko and revising it as they talked. The girl became so excited that it was hard for her to keep her voice down. At one point Johann heard stirring sounds from across the room and thought they had awakened either Vivien or Sister Nuba. Keiko and he sat in total silence until they could hear no more sounds from across the room.
Maria returned long before Johann expected. He hurriedly finished his preparations and walked with Keiko over to the pathway between the rocks. Maria kissed them both good-bye and wished them good luck. “Thank you, oh thank you. Johann,” she whispered in his ear. “I knew you would do it.”
Keiko went through the passageway first and then waited on the bank of the canal while Johann slipped into the water. He backed up to where she was standing and instructed her to put her arms around his neck. Johann explained again that he was going to swim breaststroke, just beneath the surface. Keiko would be able to keep her head out of the water if she used her legs to kick and held on with her hands just underneath Johann’s chin.
At first the swimming was awkward. Keiko seemed to be fighting against him. She also kicked him hard once and choked him twice when she thought she was falling off. Johann stopped, treading water while holding the girl, and patiently explained to her what she was doing wrong. Soon after they started swimming again they settled into a rhythm that significantly reduced Johann’s effort.
Johann was attempting to count strokes, but it was difficult under the circumstances. What was certain was that it took him longer to swim carrying Keiko than if he were swimming himself But how much longer? How much total time did he need to allocate to account for the child on his back? Of course Johann did not know the precise answer. But when Keiko asked a second, and then a third time, if they could stop while she caught her breath, Johann knew that they would not be able to stay very long at their destination.
They found the opening between the rocks without any difficulty. Johann lifted Keiko onto the bank. Although he had asked her to follow him through the passageway and not to say anything until he verified that there was no danger, Johann and Keiko were barely out of sight of the canal when she started yelling, “Mom, it’s Keiko! I’ve come to see you!”
Johann let the eager Keiko squeeze by him at one wide spot in the passageway and she began to run despite the narrowness of the path. Johann heard the squeals of delight before he reached the room. When he came into the living area, Satoko and Keiko were in a full, joyous embrace, both of them dancing with excitement. Ravi, Anna, Eric, and Serentha were standing just beyond them, Serentha in her father’s arms and Eric holding Anna’s hand. There was not a single dry eye in the room. Even the baby Serentha was crying, although she doubtless did not understand why everyone else was so happy.
TO AVOID THE consternation that had characterized his last visit, Johann took Ravi and Anna aside immediately and explained to them why Keiko and he could not stay very long. He shared with them both his knowledge of the nozzler patrol schedules and the geography of their region of the
grotto, as well as his estimates for the length of time it had taken him to swim, with Keiko on his back, between their two living areas. Meanwhile, the overjoyed Satoko continued to shower her daughter with spontaneous embraces and to ask her questions about all the minutiae of life. Eric walked in circles around Keiko and her mother, taking advantage of any lapses in the conversation to insert a question or make a comment. The curious Serentha, no longer crying, amused everyone at one point by approaching Keiko from the side, running her fingers over her wet clothes, and then hugging her awkwardly.
The time went by rapidly. Keiko was explaining to Satoko what a good substitute mother Vivien had been for her when Johann interrupted their conversation and informed them that it was time to go. He was unprepared for the response. To Satoko, it was unthinkable that she and her daughter, after having been apart for years, would now be separated again after such a short reunion. It was also obvious that Keiko wanted to stay with her mother. Johann’s suggestion that it could be extremely dangerous for Keiko to stay in this room provoked such a passionate outburst from Satoko that he literally did not know what to do.
Ravi and Anna both understood that Keiko’s presence in their living area, if noticed, would clearly indicate to the adoclynes that the two groups of humans had purposely broken the grotto rules so carefully explained by Dr. Jailani. They tried unsuccessfully to intercede with Satoko, causing her behavior to become even more erratic. After a few minutes Keiko, frightened by her mother’s intermittent wails and curses, put her arms around Satoko and told her that she was staying, no matter what Johann, Ravi, and Anna said. The girl correctly pointed out to her mother, who began to calm down, that there was no way Johann could take her back against her will.
Johann was now angry with himself You could have predicted this outcome, he thought, if you had not been swayed by emotion. Aware that he was now critically short of time, Johann asked Ravi and Anna how long it would be before their next adoclyne cleaning visit. He promised to return for Keiko before then. Johann did not underestimate the nozzlers. He was certain that any contact with the aliens would result in an immediate realization that one of the children had changed locations. Johann was equally certain that there would be dire ramifications for both human groups following that realization.
He said hasty good-byes, embracing the thankful Satoko and Keiko only briefly, and hurried into the narrow passageway that led to the canal. Moving too quickly along the unknown path, Johann slipped badly in one spot, smacking his shoulder against one of the walls and wrenching his right knee in the process. He was not aware of the severity of his knee injury until he entered the water and started swimming. Every time Johann made a frog kick, the pain in his knee increased.
Johann faced a difficult dilemma. If he couldn’t kick, he knew he couldn’t swim breaststroke fast enough to return to his living area before the breakfast delivery. If he swam freestyle, he would make it back in time, but he would also make a lot of noise and churn up the water in the process. Originally, Johann had decided that it was safer to be as unobtrusive as possible and swim breaststroke in the canals, since it was likely, based on the way the adoclynes communicated with each other, that their hearing was very sensitive. In his current situation, however, he decided that he really didn’t have a choice. He would swim freestyle and hope that the aliens did not hear him.
He made it to the first canal fork without incident. Only a hundred meters away from the branch that led to his living area, however, Johann heard the shrill sound of the alarm that indicated something was amiss in their region of the grotto. Treading water near the center of the canal, Johann fought against panic and searched both walls for a possible hiding place. Over to his right was an irregular part of the wall that created a small alcove. With the alarm still sounding, he swam in that direction. Johann was delighted to discover that because of the alcove’s shape he could only be seen if someone or something was very close to him.
A pair of nozzler blasts in the distance were answered by a trio of sounds that were much closer. Johann moved almost to the wall, took a deep breath, and submerged as deeply as he could. He stayed down until he thought his lungs would explode. When he resurfaced, the alarm was no longer audible. Johann convinced himself that whatever crisis had caused the sounding of the alarm had now passed.
Now, however, Johann had another problem. There was no way he could reach his living area before breakfast delivery. It would be necessary for him to remain where he was, spending as much time underwater as possible to avoid being seen, until the adoclynes had finished with their rounds. For fifteen minutes Johann bobbed up and down in the alcove, spending ninety-five percent of his time underwater. Many times he heard nozzler blasts when he came up for a breath, and twice he felt the water swell as if something had moved through the canal very close to him. Finally, after hearing no nozzler sounds for several minutes, Johann, now bothered both by fatigue and the pain in his knee, eased his way out into the canal and started swimming very slowly.
A few minutes later he turned into the canal branch that led to his living area. Johann was within forty meters of his grotto home when a huge nozzler, who had obviously been waiting for him, suddenly rose out of the water directly in front of him and emitted a terrifying pair of blasts. Johann struck the tentacle trying to seize him with a downstroke of his right hand, turned in the water, and started swimming in the opposite direction. By the time he reached the canal junction, he was surrounded by three of the adoclynes.
Realizing that it was useless to resist, Johann allowed the nozzlers to wrap their tentacles around him. They dragged him through the water at an amazing speed. At the sentry intersection, a small raft was waiting. The nozzlers hoisted Johann onto the raft, released him from the restraining tentacles, and guided the raft through the grotto. A pair of nozzlers preceded the raft, announcing their presence with periodic blasts.
All traffic moved out of the way Johann’s raft passed by the main grotto intersection, where the rendition of the glowing ribbon structure was still in place, and continued until it reached the very first canal fork just inside the entrance. Johann briefly saw the light from outside the grotto and wondered if he would ever see it again. A few minutes later, the raft passed under a raised seaweed gate into a small cul-de-sac and stopped next to an open room cut into the right wall. When Johann didn’t move, one of the guiding adoclynes pointed at the room with a blue tentacle and emitted a short blast. Johann then crawled off the raft into the front of the room. He watched as the raft retraced its path. The seaweed gate descended into the water after the raft vanished beyond the entrance to the cul-de-sac.
SIX
JOHANN’S CELL WAS tiny, no more than five meters wide and eight meters from the canal to the back wall. The ceiling was low and irregular—near the back, where there was a familiar hole for wastes and garbage, Johann could not even stand up straight. The back part of his cell was much darker than the front, since the only light came from a glowing nest high on the opposite wall of the canal.
When Johann was first placed in the cell, he found a thick sheath of edible seaweed lying against one of the side walls, as well as a normal seaweed mat for sleeping. Looking around his cell, Johann considered himself fortunate. After all, he thought, they might have executed me. In some ways the nozzlers are more civilized than we are.
After a quick snack, Johann decided to survey his new realm. There was nothing to see in his cell. He entered the water and swam to the back wall of the cul-de-sac. Johann then turned around and swam back to examine the gate, which was approximately fifteen meters from the back wall. The gate fit snugly in place. He could stick his hands under the bottom, or between the wall and the sides of the gate, but there was certainly no space large enough for him to escape. Johann vainly tried lifting the gate from the bottom, pushing it at water level, and striking it with his fist. For his efforts all he achieved was a slight back strain and a bruised hand.
He drank some of the canal water and noted
it’s fresh, soothing taste. Then Johann returned again to his cell and sat down on his mat. It could be much worse, he told himself. I have food and water. The canal section is long enough and deep enough that I can exercise. The only significant drawback is that I am alone.
THE ADOCLYNES BROUGHT Johann new food at irregular intervals, making it impossible for him to obtain any accurate measure of time. He learned that the size of the seaweed sheath that was left for him on the lip of the cell was indicative of how long it would be before he was visited again by the aliens. Whenever his cell was cleaned, which was infrequently, the task was performed by the nozzler who brought his food. Watching the cleaning activity for about five minutes was Johann’s sole interaction with another living creature. The other adoclynes never even left the water on the visits when they deposited new food on the lip of his cell.
For the first ten days or so of his confinement, Johann’s loneliness was manageable. He swam, ate, and slept whenever he felt like it. He allowed his mind to jump from topic to topic without any overall sense of direction. In general, he was not overly discontent with his life.
Soon, however, the purposelessness of his existence began to weigh heavily upon him. Throughout his life, a considerable proportion of his time and energy had always been spent planning for future events and activities. Even when he had been with the family group in the grotto, Johann had busied himself during a part of every day organizing everyone’s activities, thinking about what he might do with the children, what he wanted to discuss with Nuba, when he might have some private time with Vivien, et cetera. In his current situation, the future was forever like the present. He had no idea how long his confinement would last, and no way of finding out. Any thoughts about the future seemed useless.