by Dan Haronian
“I am sorry but I am not aware of the local calendar,” I said.
“The year here is divided into 10 months and each month is about 5 cycles of full darkness long,” he said.
“By full darkness do you mean nights with no Mampas?” I asked, just to make sure.
“Yes, and this year will end in two months,” said Dug.
Daio nodded and let out a silent sigh. “In two months dozens of people will die and you will have a chance to take part in horrifying and endless funeral processions to the White Planes.”
“The boxes,” I suddenly remembered. “The clothes on the table in the house in the forest.”
“Exactly,” said Dug.
I was still having trouble believing my brothers were alive much less believe what they were saying. “How does this plague kill?” I asked.
“It's something in the lungs, a blockage. The Doctor has more details,” said Dug.
I nodded and cleared my throat as if I’d just walked out of the cloud hovering over the pool.
“Do you understand now what I meant when I said it's not what it looks like?” asked Daio. “It's hard to accept but I don't see how we can change it.”
“The plague is part of the culture here. We think it is the reason people are so passive,” said Dug. “If you ask me, the plague is less of a problem than their stupid belief that the deaths are a penance they must pay for their forefathers damaging Naan.”
“A penance?” I wondered.
“Yes, a penance. They believe the planet is killing their children to pay them back for all of the mining work their forefathers did hundreds years ago,” said Daio. “That’s where this plague got its name. The Sinners’ Plague. Do you see? We must not only find a cure for the disease, but also fight this superstition. I worry about what will happen if we do find a cure somehow. What this will do to their souls if they find that all of their beliefs were one big sham?”
Dug raised his eyebrows in disagreement. “I meet many people every day," he said. “I listen to them and learn what is going through their minds. They have a logical explanation for everything. It's all a matter of conventions. If a cure is found their twisted rules will change accordingly. It may take a generation or two but eventually their minds will change as well.”
“I worry it's a mental flaw,” said Daio.
I stared at him, but I wasn't listening. I was lost in thought contemplating the reason I’d packed up the little I had and come back to the town.
I lay on clean, white sheets covering a soft and pleasant mattress, and thought about my life on Seragon. I thought about our escape, and about my life on the mountains of Naan. I came to a clear-cut conclusion; my bed on the second floor of this beautiful house was the best I’d ever had.
I wondered why of all things I could be thinking about I was wasting time on something so meaningless. Maybe it was because eventually the little things are the ones that matter most. Comfortable in that wonderful bed I drifted off to sleep.
In spite of the bed, I woke up early the next morning. I lay there for a few more minutes. It was nice. I thought it could become a long-term habit. Outside the window Dion, the local star whose name I’d learned the night before, was just peeking over the horizon. I got out of bed, went down to the first floor, and stepped out of the house. I breathed in the cool air and walked over to the garden. A round table was there with a few chairs around it. I sat and watched as the sky started to clear.
Yesterday’s events played in my head like a movie. I wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten sick. Would I have stayed on my mountain till the day I died? If it was loneliness that had brought me back, then the answer was probably no, but I played with the thought that I’d waited a few decades before returning. I would probably have died of heartbreak when I learned that I’d lived for so many years only two walking days away from Daio and Dug. The thought made me shudder.
“I hope you didn't sleep here outside.”
I turned. “Daio,” I called as he approached.
“Is everything okay?”
I smiled, “Everything is excellent. I slept like a king,” I said and straightened up on my chair. “I am use to getting up early in the morning.”
“You are not the only one,” he said. He sat next to me and gazed at me like a father looking at his long lost son. “When I finally fell asleep I dreamed that the Doctor brought you home. You wore leather clothes and had grown strong and tall. You led a mare, two stallions, and two sheep into town with you.”
I smiled bitterly.
“I woke up thinking about this dream. When I realized it had really happened my heart started to race.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe you are alive. It's still…”
I sighed. “Yes, I too cannot believe this is happening. I still think about what happened back then. I still wonder if I should have acted differently.”
“You are not alone in that either,” he said, and then shook his head. He looked at the sky, but immediately returned his gaze to me. “We searched for you,” he said as if he knew what was going on in my mind.
“I guess you didn't search enough,” I said.
“Well, that’s clear now,” he said.
“I am not blaming you or anything,” I said. I knew they’d never had a chance of finding me. I also was remembering that I was the reason we were all here to begin with.
“I do,” he said. “We were injured, mentally beaten. The Doctor said he was conducting a thorough search. I know he did the best he could. He recruited every man here to help look.”
“Still they were probably looking for a body or someone badly wounded,” I said. “I doubt they expanded the search into the mountains around the town.”
“Yes, but I should have taken that possibility into account.”
“No, you couldn’t have known. No one survived the inferno that was in the forest. The ones who died there left no sign.”
“You survived. The Doctor and me survived,” he said.
A noise came from the gate and we both looked up. Someone was walking towards us with fast little steps.
“The Doctor,” I said to myself as I recognized his large face. I stood as he approached and the Doctor stopped a few steps away, looking like someone trying too to understand a new reality.
“Good morning,” I said in Naanite.
“Go…Good morning,” he replied hesitantly.
He walked forwards and laid a black box on the table. “I hope you had a good night’s sleep. I barely closed my eyes.”
“Where is your car?” asked Daio looking back toward the gate.
“I parked it in the street,” he said. “I didn't want to disturb Sosi.”
“Sosi woke up before all of us,” said Daio. He gazed at the box. “I see you brought your little device.” He pointed towards the box. “I don’t think you had the opportunity to see this box,” he said in Seragonian.
“I do remember it though,” I said and sat back down.
The Doctor opened the box, typed in few commands, and after some effort sat in one of the chairs.
“So how was life in the mountains of Naan?” I heard his voice through the speaker.
I leaned back, pulled my beard and sighed, “I was lucky,” I said. I didn't want to go through the whole story again.
“Luck is not always enough,” he said.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I was in bad shape at first, but it improved with every passing day.”
“I think you are being too modest,” he said. “After what happened in the forest you needed more than luck to get better with each passing day.”
I shrugged my shoulders again.
“So, what do you think about Naan?” he asked.
I smiled and gazed at the sky. “What do I think about Naan,” I mumbled to myself and the device didn’t catch my words. “It's too early for me to know what I think about Naan,” I said. “Still too many things to digest.”
“Yes, of course,”
Moah step
ped through the house door carrying a plate filled with cakes, slices of bread, and cheeses. Dug rushed in behind him carrying a pitcher of juice.
“Good morning everyone,” said Dug, setting the pitcher on the table and sitting down in the last chair. “So what is this? A new custom?” he continued looking around as if this was the first time he’d seen the garden.
“I think Sosi prefers our garden to the house,” said Daio with a grin. I was staring at the deep basket on the plate Moah placed on the table. “You remember the bread we ate that day?” asked Daio.
“Yes, in the house in the forest,” I said.
“Apparently that is a very unique recipe,” he said. “I asked Moah to prepare some for you. Try it.”
I took a slice of bread and bit into it. “This is excellent,” I said and looked over at Moah. He nodded and gave me a little pleased smile. He bowed and walked back towards the house.
“I think what we ate back then was better,” I said when he was gone.
“Maybe it was because that was the first time we’d ever eaten something natural.” said Daio.
Dug shook his head. “Maybe it's because the amount of artificial and synthetic material arriving on Naan since that day has been constantly growing.” He started to laugh.
“That is true,” said Daio and grinned. “At least we are seeing progress in something.”
“We are progressing in many things,” the Doctor hurried to say.
Daio shook his head. “Naan will never progress very far without a few major changes.”
“Yes, I know,” said the Doctor, “But you already know that some things take a long time to change.” He let out a small sigh and looked lost for a moment. He looked at me. “Do you understand what we are talking about?”
“Yes, I think we discussed this last night,” I said.
The Doctor looked at Daio.
“The illness,” I said.
“The illness,” the Doctor mused.
“The plague,” I corrected and he nodded. “There is no doubt it's the key to the future of Naan. And maybe you are right. Maybe we should call it the illness; after all, it's not contagious.
“I understand you tried to cure it once before,” I said.
“They’ve tried several times. Once, long before my time, their attempt made things worse.”
“Yes, Daio told me,” I said and played with my beard. I sighed and gave Daio a long look.
"Is everything okay?" he asked. He’d immediately noticed something was not quite right.
“You never asked why I came back,” I said and looked back and forth between them.
“Why you returned?” wondered Dug, “Why wouldn't you?”
“You assume my life was difficult there, but it wasn’t,” I said.
“Why is this important?” asked Daio impatiently as if I was considering leaving. “You are back and that's that.”
“I came back because I got sick,” I said immediately.
Daio straightened himself on his chair. “Sick?”
“What do you mean?” asked Dug. “People get sick. It's part of life.”
“I had a fever and terrible weakness. I fainted several times. I think I was close to death.” I giggled.
I saw the doubtful look on the Doctor face. He probably thought I was laughing at them.
“It really happened,” I said. “I am laughing because I think it would have been strange if I’d really died.” I gazed at Daio. “I would never have known that you survived and you would never have known about me.”
“I am very happy you got better,” said Dug as if to end the conversation.
“That is not the point," I said. "You are right, people get sick. But my sickness itself is not important. It’s how it happened that matters. Or at least how I think it happened.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Daio.
“You remember I told you about the pool in the valley.”
They nodded.
“One day the water disappeared. The pool was empty. I walked out into it to see what had happened. When I was right out in the middle hot water suddenly came pouring out of deep holes in the bottom of the pool. Then a cloud of steam, or a cloud of something anyway, rose up from the water. It all happened very fast. I was down inside the empty basin when it happened. I started coughing and I couldn't catch my breath. I fainted beside the pool after I climbed out. When I woke up the pool was full again but the water was warm, and the whole valley was covered by the cloud.”
“So you were poisoned,” said Dug.
“I don't know. I started to feel bad before it all started, but it got worse after the eruption.”
“So, you think this might be what’s causing the plague in the city?”
“I don't know.”
“I seriously doubt clouds erupting somewhere in the mountains could cause the plague here,” said Dug.
“Maybe it doesn’t take much to start the plague," said the Doctor.
“Even if there was some gas involved, we can’t know for sure if it was the cause of Sosi's illness,” said Dug. “He doesn't even know himself. Even if he was poisoned, he was inside the pool when it all happened. There is no reason to believe it would affect those farther away. As far as I know no gas clouds show up here when the plague breaks out.”
“Dug is right, but still I think we should look into it,” said Daio.
“I can send a team from the university,” said the Doctor. He gazed at me, and then at Dug, who obviously thought this was a waste of time. “I can organize them within a few hours.”
“I'll take you there,” I said.
“Out of the question,” said Daio and looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because! I am not letting you out of my sight,” he said decisively.
I smiled. I loved hearing those words. “Nothing will happen to me,” I said. “And if the Doctor is ready in a few hours, we'll be back before nightfall.”
“It will be a dark night tonight,” said the Doctor.
“It doesn't matter. We'll be back before dawn,” I insisted.
“I think we should postpone this for a day or two,” said Daio.
“But what if it's really related to the plague?” asked the Doctor. Its arrival is only two months away. If we can do something about it, if the gas cloud is really related, we could save hundreds of lives.”
“I don't understand,” said Dug shaking his head. “Don't you think this is a bit hasty? The chance that this is related to the plague is virtually zero.”
“It's a long shot but it has the potential to make an infinite improvement compared to what we understand today about this plague.”
“I’d prefer that Sosi stay here,” said Daio.
“We'll take a few policemen,” said the Doctor. “We'll take good care of him.“
A shiver went through me thinking about policemen guarding me again. Guarding me with their lives. “I can take care of myself,” I said but Daio ignored me. He shifted his gaze to the Doctor. “Keep your eyes on him every second! Don't take any chances.”
“You can trust me,” said the Doctor and that was when I suddenly started to worry.
Two hours later we were on a hovercraft. Our party consisted of the Doctor, three investigators, and five policemen in black uniforms with shiny badges on their shirts. The hovercraft flew low over the countryside. From the window I could identify many places I remembered. I couldn't believe I was seeing them again so soon. The Doctor looked pensive. He stared at the hovercraft's white wall in front of him as if he was frozen. The others looked out the windows and from time to time gazed at me with admiration.
I pointed out the house when I saw it, alone on top of a hill. We went into a hover, and then landed in the grassy area behind it. We filed out of the hovercraft and passed through the fence. The smell of sheep and horse manure was strong in the air. When we passed the entrance of the house a few of them peered inside. After a quick glance they whispered between themselves. One o
f them pushed two of his friends forward. It seemed as if they felt they were invading my privacy.
Being in the house again felt odd. I’d expected to feel something, but I didn't.
I waved toward the cane bushes in the valley. The researchers and two policemen started down the trail to begin their investigations.
“We’ll stay here,” said the Doctor, looking at the valley below.
“I’d better go down there,” I said. “I’ll feel better if I can see what they are doing.”
I started down the trail with two policemen following me. I wished they’d stayed up on the hill with the doctor. It was silly, but I was afraid something would happen to them. I wondered if I was still suffering from posttraumatic stress after what had happened to Raban the policeman.
I walked fast and approached the researchers. The Doctor had said they were from the university, but that didn’t make sense based on what I’d heard from my brothers. And besides, what kind of researchers were they? If they were geologists or something like that, where had they been hiding till now? Related to the plague or not, how was it possible they could know nothing about the gases that emerged from this pool before I told my story? If they were geologists why hadn’t they mapped the planet? Why hadn’t they just gone out and scanned the land just to get to know their planet’s geography?
When they disappeared behind the canes, I started to think that maybe Dug was right after all. The chance that this has anything to do with the strange plague was slim. Even if it were related, the chances that these people would find that relationship was even slimmer.
The researchers collected rock samples, soil samples, vegetation, and water samples. They didn’t have diving equipment and when I waved to the center of the pool they didn’t understand what I wanted. I thought that if there really was something in the water it was probably more significant close to the center of the pool where the holes were gouged into the bottom. If so, I thought we should sample there. I did my best to make them understand, but nothing I tried made sense, and the Doctor and his box were up the hill.
I took my clothes off, to their embarrassment, and jumped into the water. I’d swum in the pool for a long time, so I wasn’t worried about doing it one more time. I took a small plastic container and disappeared under the water. I popped up again after a few seconds at the center of the pool. I took a deep breath and dived down to one of the holes. I opened the container, the air bubbled out and water filled it. I closed it and surfaced. I sucked in a breath and dove again. When I reached to the edge of the hole I picked up a few stones and once again surfaced.