by Adam Peled
Legend said there were still people living on Levi who could speak Cherka, the language of God, and everyone who could bought his world not only in this life, but also in the next. Evidence of this was that some Levites were more than 200 years old, who’d lived through at least four years of choice. There was nothing similar anywhere else the galaxy. Hence the planet was respected and often considered to be beyond the rules of the games for control. No leader was prepared to confront those who spoke the language of God.
Levites wore long white robes and a white conical hat with a thin black line descending from its edge. Some said it was a miter of power. No Levite had ever been seen without it, not even when asleep. Actually, no one had ever seen a Levite asleep, as they seemed to be always fully awake, smiling as if holding a secret, their eyes shining, like a mysterious ray of light was trapped in their heads and bursting out of their eye sockets. Their cheeks were pink and all the men—young and old—had a long, pointed white beard. Levites used a Jorash to immunize their children when they reached the age of three. Every child who survived the first three years was entitled to be immunized by a Jorash, which strengthened their body and afforded them a talisman for health and a long life. The other galactic citizens were jealous.
On Levi, the Jorash was also used to reap their harvests. The Levites didn’t eat animal products because, according to their beliefs, a living thing cannot cross the lips of another living thing. They wanted no technology—although it offered considerable assistance—as they felt its use was an opportunity for evil to invade the planet. Nevertheless, the Levites were aware of the advantages of the technology that dominated the galaxy. They were familiar with and knew the secrets of the latest software and machines existing in the various galactic laboratory dungeons, even though no one had revealed it to them.
David, a short, smiling Levite, had represented the planet for almost five years of choice. Some compared him to a friendly grandfather who always had candy in his pocket for a small child. David truly contributed good things for every event and at any moment, always smiling, always ready with a joke or a pleasant word, and carrying with him an aura of peace.
The Levites had given themselves the job of creating peace and calm on all the different planets. They had no desire to convert them to their religion and beliefs, but wanted to render assistance in helping others work things out and bring harmony to all. Their advantage lay in seeing things that were concealed, and they knew how to build a bridge between what was actually said and what was stored in someone’s heart.
***
Moran had previously been a penal settlement for criminals who no longer had a place in healthy society. During the first year of choice, the planet experienced many murders and atrocities, until the other planets stopped sending their criminals there. The Moranians were forced to learn how to get along with each other and manage a normal life.
In the third year of choice, just when normal life had been established on Moran—without murders or a sense of chaos—the rulers of other planets once again began transferring their most hardened criminals there. For two years the Moranians suffered from increasing chaos until the Moranian council closed its gates and ceased accepting new residents in the middle of the fifth year of counting. In doing so, the administrative organization created a situation in which the residents “sold” their best wares—crimes—to other planets. Suddenly, Moran became a planet of mercenaries.
From time to time, Moranians were seen engaging in criminal activities on other planets. Admittedly, they tried to blend in on whatever planet they came to, but their hairy arms and shaven heads with a long braid hanging down on the right side betrayed their origin—sometimes even more than the crime itself, which was always accompanied by the cruelty typical of Moranians.
Coldor was the undisputed Moranian ruler. He’d proclaimed, years earlier, that women couldn’t leave home, and any who went out would be put to death that same day. A few women tried, but didn’t manage to survive the day—as he promised. Most acquiesced, although it caused ongoing resentment among the males as well, who found themselves solely bearing the weighty responsibility of too many tasks to carry out.
Residents of Moran received a Jorash from Coldor. A few Moranians had their own Jorash, but the women didn’t have one at all. The lucky men who carried a Jorash permanently held positions in Coldor’s court. They were forced to perform a series of tasks, some awful, in order to hold the position and a Jorash. Some performed their tasks easily, which amazed even the other hardened residents of the planet.
***
Brisker—the blue ice planet. Some said the sun’s light, fracturing on the ice plains, was responsible for the permanent celestial rainbow. Everyone arriving on Brisker sensed the tremendous intensity of those ice fields—not tall glaciers, but a vast expanse, stretching from horizon to horizon, of bright blue ice. The Briskerians were very friendly people with slanting eyes that perpetually shone. No one knew what they ate; there was no vegetation on the planet, and grass- or fruit-eating animals obviously couldn’t survive there, and thus there were no wild animals. In the many springs there was only clear blue, vanilla-scented water.
The residents of Brisker vowed many years ago that they wouldn’t damage the ice, believing that they were its preservationists. Therefore they never scraped it, didn’t make holes in it to fish for living things that might exist under the blue ice cover, and certainly didn’t carve houses out of it. For all this, Briskerians remarkably didn’t die of hunger; on the contrary, they were robust beings, always full of joy and endless vitality.
Some say that God, seeing their honest hearted belief, provided them with the two things necessary to sustain them—food, which, like the manna in the desert in another story, appeared daily, and the protection of the scrolls stored at Brisker’s core. The scrolls told the story of creation, which occurred before the first year.
In addition to the tale of creation, the scrolls contained another secret—how to acquire mastery of the world. Many rulers wanted the scrolls to learn this secret, the secret from which even God must be unaware.
Pandor, the eldest of the warlords, ruled Brisker. He was a pleasant person, with great respect for all those around him, and enjoyed tremendous inner quiet, as if the tranquility of the ice plains had adhered to him. Pandor’s arrival at any location, especially at the temples outside Brisker, resulted in a quiet whistle of the wind being felt. The breeze didn’t arouse fear, but immediately created absolute calm. Like a red carpet spread before others, so was the wind for him. The enormous man with a kind, smiling face always seemed somewhat embarrassed by the silence that accompanied his arrival. His appearance apparently contributed to his dramatic entry.
***
Rosten was the fifth planet, known as the red planet. A red sun permanently illuminated it, but with purple light, which injured the eye if looked at directly. Purple light burned everything, like a laser point that focuses and scorches without true fire.
Lunia, the legendary ruler of Rosten, is a man of technology, innovation and weapons. Of average height nothing in his appearance reveals the depths of his constantly burning mind inventing and acquiring new weapons, even if they are unnecessary; to develop computerized systems that precede their time, solve problems before they arise. Deep furrows decorated Lunia’s forehead above the large and kind eyes, the wrinkles being the sole indicator of the many thoughts running around in his brain. His hands were similar to a farmer who toiled in the fields—rough, big, suntanned. If someone encountered him by chance, he was unrecognizable as the unquestioned ruler of Rosten, the planet of science and knowledge.
Rosten’s population was known for its wisdom. Young boys were often sent to other planets as instructors to eliminate the ignorance existing in many places around the galaxy.
Lunia stood by one mandate above all his intellectual goals—although he frequently argued with himself as to whether the decision was correct—that of not interfering in galactic wars. H
is shared Rosten’s considerable knowledge with anyone who asked for it, believing it didn’t contribute to war, but only to peace.
Rosteners’ clothing sometimes appeared odd, but considerable thought and attention had been invested, even in its smallest details. They typically wore a close-fitting overall with poppers operated by turning
In addition, a small visible scar decorated each cheek—a straight, diagonal 30o line from the ear downward toward the corner of the mouth. Rosteners couldn’t be mistaken for a resident from any other planet.
Tula, Lunia’s only daughter, was the most beautiful woman on the planet. It was said her father had researched the wisdom of beauty prior to her birth, and she was the best result of his developments.
***
Petra, the only female galactic planet, was ruled by Mia, the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. Even Lunia admitted that her special genes should have been further researched before she was born.
With her black hair and shining green eyes, Mia looked as if she were 30, although it was known that her rule was longer than the fifth year—if not the sixth year—of counting. Petra was also the galaxy’s most magical planet, and its few residents ruled the stars beyond the familiar galaxy through magic known only to them. The concoctions and potions created on the planet were known to be incredibly successful. The planet’s magical abilities deterred many, and it seemed as if a visit to Petra was more frightening than going to Moran, the planet of the mercenaries. All Petranos had a winding, snake-shaped tattoo starting at the left eyebrow and ending in the middle of the left cheek. No one was prepared to look directly into the snake’s threatening eyes and, in fact, visits by foreigners to Petra were extremely rare.
However, there was one regular visitor—old Bergin, who arrived at Mia’s bastion every Sunday at six a.m., when it only seemed that everyone was asleep. His intense curiosity regarding his destiny needed to be quenched weekly. He didn’t dare complain about his previous week’s experiences, or indicate that Mia’s predictions weren’t always to his liking. Silently he entered her room and sat in his regular chair, sometimes waiting a moment for her spoiled cat to move. He hated the feline hairs that stuck to his cloak, but never said a word. Only one time his look conveyed his disgust toward the creature he so hated, and on that day Mia presented him with such a week that at the end of it, he didn’t know whether he’d remain alive or not. Since then he made sure to persuade himself, prior to setting out, that he loved the fat, spoiled puss.
Mia looked at him for a moment and then turned her back to him silently. On the screen above her head, one could see future events. Sometimes he was amazed at what was shown would happen to him. Mia simply waited, looking elsewhere. Only when she knew he’d finished his questions did she leave the room—still in silence—and he returned to his home.
***
Saturn, the water planet, was controlled by Yona. Residents of Saturn had gills, allowing them to be people of the sea and the water. They divided their lives between both elements. They could remain underwater for up to three hours, and many of them lived a double life. Below, Saturnénas had houses where they spent time with their families, or alone. Many philosophers and interesting intellectuals lived there.
Saturnénas attributed their mystical ability to the absence of the spirit they sometimes found themselves in—the underwater quiet enabled them to disconnect and live a spiritual life more easily rather than a material one. Indeed, their writings were studied and conveyed with great respect among galactic citizens.
Since 70 percent of Saturn was covered with water, the rulers feared a population explosion that was liable to bring death and much sickness due to the limited dry areas. Accordingly, over the generations, the order that forbade bearing more than two children was never rescinded. Moreover, a Saturnéna family that restricted itself to only one child was entitled to many governmental benefits.
The Saturnénas weren’t against this ruling and there were no tempests in their lives. Saturn was a key source of galactic minerals and was therefore considered a rich and well-established planet.
***
Delta, the planet of writers and medical scientists, was an interesting combination of intellectuals and medical researchers controlled rather high-handedly by Old Fred, the scientist. Fred’s name was known far and wide, and even little children on other planets spoke his name with awe and tremendous respect.
Delta accepted new residents who wanted to move to Delta in order to be inspired and create after filtering and selection. A special acceptance committee, whose faces no one ever saw, discussed the requests and made the decisions. The next generation of Deltans wasn’t allowed to stay unless approved by the committee. Even coupledom couldn’t be implemented unless the committee permitted it, and those previously accepted could have their citizenship ruled out and be transferred back to their original planet.
The invention of a vaccination for the terrible Lime disease was attributed to Old Fred, a disease that originally sickened residents of the planet Darfol. In fact, it plagued all the planets, but was first diagnosed among the Darfolis. Initially all the planets attempted to conceal the illness from each other, but eventually they realized there was no one to conceal it from. So the unfounded mutual accusations began.
No one knew the cause of the illness. It spread from the fingers, which began to turn white. Within a few days, the fingers became totally white. If one scratched or rubbed them, they gently crumbled, but remained whole, as if they had white sand on them. Gradually the hands became covered with the same layer of crumbling whitewash, and thereafter, the entire body.
The panic was tremendous. Darfolis were asked to stay in their homes and the Darfoli ruler asked for help from the other galactic rulers. No one wanted to come to examine the sick, as everyone feared infection. All the residents of Darfol became sick, and some two weeks after their cry for help, emails from each of the other planets’ rulers were sent to the Darfoli ruler demanding a description of the symptoms. Those other rulers tried to hide the fact that the symptoms of the dreadful disease had already been discovered on their planets.
On the 30th day of the Darfoli outbreak, which happened in the middle of the seventh year, all the galactic rulers met, their faces as white as whitewash—but not only from fear. On Rosten sat 20 scientists white with Lime disease trying to find a cure for the galactic illness. Nothing like it had ever been mentioned in the history books. Lunia tried his hardest to invent an antidote, but the results offered only limited comfort measures—no cure.
Each planet set its highest-qualified brains to attempt to find a cure and discover where the disease had come from. Old Fred, whose legs could barely carry him, awoke from his usual midday sleep sometimes lasting a whole day lifted the newspaper he’d dropped, and remembered the words of his beloved grandfather: “Freddie, when everyone dreams, it’s worth doing something.”
Interesting, he thought. Why am I remembering this now? He went into his laboratory, made himself coffee, and checked several solutions that he’d worked on during the last year. “This Lime will kill us,” Old Fred said, trying to shake off the powder from his skin that stuck to his clothes.
Several days later, he tried to reconstruct exactly what he had done during those moments, since Old Fred had inadvertently formulated the cure for Lime disease. Something in coffee and lime, mixed in solutions intended to increase the annual crop harvest on his farm, all together saved the galaxy. No one will ever forget Old Fred’s name.
***
Kantara was a military planet ruled by Bar, a trained, highly experienced military man. Some said he was Coldor’s only friend.
Kantara’s other name was the Planet of War—not because it fought against the other planets, but because many armies were trained there. Occasionally two rival armies trained on Kantara at exactly the same time.
Bar had been in a special elite unit. Most of its exploits had yet to be told, but he enjoyed special and extraordinary appreciation. He was
unable to wear all his decorations simultaneously because his suits were too small for them all to fit. He married a beautiful young Petrano woman whose beauty and power stunned everyone who saw her. He was previously engaged to Mia, but she refused to marry him unless she was allowed to continue practicing her magic, something which she’d been educated in from infancy. Indeed, the woman he ultimately married, Rhonda, did all that her husband commanded.
Bar traveled to all the planets in the galaxy and selected seven youths from each who underwent a long and tough training period. Eventually, only 12 remained—strong, well-trained men who prepared the next generation and the strongest armies in the galaxy. The fantastic dozen knew how to fight better than anyone else—except for Bar, of course—with a Jorash and a Roll.
***
Bucha was ruled by Koffee. Most of the planet was covered with jungles and dense evergreen forests filled with many animal species. It was said that nature surpassed itself and proved its power on Bucha, creating pink peacocks with purple crowns and giraffes with tiny wings, which admittedly couldn’t bear their weight but added great charm. Bucha could have been the most spectacular safari planet ever created.
The Buchawans hadn’t been blessed with great wisdom or sophistication. Their leaders were drawn from the animal world, and even their communication system was not like others, as it was understandable only to them—and perhaps to a few Buchawan animals whose language they had adopted for themselves. Hand and body movements accompanied every word, making the dialect even harder to decipher. Koffee, Bucha’s ruler, was one of the three people who could speak the galactic language. The advantage of those three was demonstrated mainly in Koffee’s unquestioned ability to rule the planet.