by Dan Haronian
“Is this is what got us arrested on Seragon?” Dug asked.
I gazed at him in surprise.
“They said we committed a serious felony,” he said defensively. “I don't remember exactly how they put it, but it sounded as we’d done something very bad.”
“That’s not important now,” I said and felt stupid for even bringing up the idea.
“It's important if they almost killed us for it,” said Dug. “It's important if it’s the reason we are here now,” he continued and looked at Daio and then at the Doctor.
“Sosi’s right. It's not important now,” said Daio. “We are much better off now than we were in Seragon. Still, we can’t risk exposing ourselves.”
“Yes, that’s why we need to leave Naan,” I said.
“What do you mean?” asked the Doctor.
“We need to access the processor from Mampas.”
“You want to go to Mampas?” asked the Doctor.
I shrugged my shoulders. It was the only approach that made sense.
Daio moved uncomfortably in his seat. “Do you still remember how to surf?” he teased.
“There are things you don't forget, even after two years in the mountains,” I said.
“So is that why you spend all your time outside?” asked Daio. “Is this place too small for you.”
“I spend time outside because I feel good there,” I said.
“You could just go out of the city, you know. You can wander in the forests all you like. There is no problem with that.”
“That is not the reason,” I said angrily.
Daio stood up and raised his hands as if he was asking to stop everything. He walked into the depths of the living room. "I don't know," he said. "I realize finding the cure will not be simple." He turned to us, "But a secret super processor, Mampas, Seragon… Just the thought that we need to risk being noticed by Seragon frightens me."
"On the other hand, finding a cure to the plague isn't something little," said the Doctor. "And you know I am not talking only about saving people's lives.”
I saw Daio shrugging from across the living room “How do you intend to get to Mampas?” he asked. “You can't just fly there. They won’t welcome us there after what happened here during the rebellion. If they catch you they will know where you came from.”
“You can’t simply travel under a false name either,” said the Doctor. “A tall person arriving from Naan would draw immediate attention at the airport.”
“I can get there in a cargo shuttle,” I said. “The same way we got here.”
“I can’t believe you are considering this,” said Dug standing up. “It’s completely crazy.”
Daio walked over. “It's crazy," he said looking at me. “Did you really see a genetic analysis in there?”
I nodded. “I can’t be more specific. I wasn't there that long, but I did see information about genetic analysis. Maybe it was related to development of some sort of weapon, but it doesn't really matter if you are developing a genetic weapon or a cure.”
“You’ve already decided it's genetic," said Dug.
"I am not saying it's genetic," said Daio shaking his head. "I am just trying to understand how powerful this…this processor is."
"Still, the whole thing is too speculative and far too risky,” said Dug. “They will kill him if he's caught.”
“Yes, keep in mind that you are still a wanted man,” said the Doctor. “At least officially you are not allowed to leave Naan.”
“I am not wanted there if I they think I’m dead,” I said, but I wondered if this idea was as crazy as it looked to me now.
“They’ll come after us if you get caught,” said Dug.
“You don't need to worry,” I said with a little contempt. “I’ll set up a new identity when I get there. I’ll be a businessman from a far off planet. No one will ever know that I came from here. Besides, if I do get caught scrambling they won’t think to look here. It virtually doesn’t exist on Naan. No one will suspect you.”
“I see you’ve thought it through,” said the Doctor.
“Not really. You are asking questions and I am answering them. I am thinking it through as we speak. I’m still not sure it’s possible.”
“What do you need in order to be sure?” asked the Doctor.
“Time, I suppose.”
“If you find the cure…” he said and fell silent. It was clear what he thought. He looked at me. “On the other hand, with a new identity you would be completely free,” he added as if worried about something.
“You think I’m planning an escape?”
“No of course not.” He looked over at Daio and Dug. “Your family is here and if you only waited a while I suppose our relations with Mampas might improve. Then if you wanted to leave you would be able to without all this.”
“Why are you doing this?” asked Daio.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Because maybe it's the only way and maybe there is no one else that can do it but me.”
“If you succeed. If we succeed in curing this plague, it would revolutionize this place," said Daio. "You know that right? Naan would be a completely different place.”
I wasn’t sure if he was only trying to explain to me how significant a success would be or he too was trying to convince me not to escape. “I’m not planning an escape,” I said holding my anger.
“I know. I’m not worried," said Daio. "Besides, likes the Doctor said, you don't need to escape, you can just leave if you think you must. We can explain to Mampas how you came back from the dead and ask them to let you leave. It’s been two years already and there is a good chance they'll agree.”
“Where would I go? To Seragon? Not so long ago all I had a few horses and sheep, now I have my family again. There’s nothing for me outside Naan.”
Daio approached me, his lips trembling with excitement. “Still, I’d prefer you didn’t go. I’d rather have you here.”
“I have only been here eight days and all you have talked about, and everything you have done is related to this damn plague."
“It's just the time in the year.”
“Sosi is right. Shortening the process could be the key,” said the Doctor and looked at Daio. I don't know why I insisted on going. I could have kept my thoughts to myself. I could have accepted my brother's position and dropped the whole thing. I guess I really thought there was no other way to get real answers in a reasonable amount of time. As long as the locals believed the plague was some sort of forced reality they couldn’t change, and the researchers there never left their doorsteps to look for answers, people would continue to die.
Still this was not my job. After two years in complete isolation and after having saved them once already, I could have sat in my brother's garden for many years without lifting a finger. I’d earned a rest. But it wasn't their job either. My older brother was behaving as if the dying children were his own.
I thought about the situation all night, and into the early morning. Finally I went out onto the front lawn and watched Dion rising. I wondered if beyond the reasonable reasons, I wanted to leave Naan because I was feeling bored. Maybe I’d saw all there is to see here and now I was pushing myself to take on new adventures.
The next day the Doctor sent one of his teachers to teach me Naanite. I studied eagerly and came to love the language. It was very different than Seragonian, and in my eyes was quite special. I didn't agree with Daio who thought it was a very low language. It was simple, but simple in the sense of minimal not of limitation. The Doctor told me that the Naanites had immigrated from planets close to Paraday and that they had kept their language carefully preserved. As isolated as they kept themselves this wasn't difficult.
My plan to use Shor, Seragon's super processor disappeared from our daily conversations. I was busy in learning the language, and they were all waiting on me to set the plan in motion. Daio wasn't into it in the beginning. Dug didn't believe in it, and the Doctor didn't try to push me towards what looked
like an abyss.
I cut my hair, shaved my beard, and tanned my bright cheeks in the light of Dion for few days until they were as golden brown as my nose. My skin softened but not enough, and Daio arranged for someone to come to the house several times to trim my nails and to remove my calluses. Two months later, except for my muscular body and countless scars, the signs of my hard life in the mountains of Naan had disappeared.
The plague broke again and Daio became agitated and impatient. Coffins being offered for sale in the streets, as if they were filled with candies, made him sick. The endless processions of apathetic people trudging toward the White Planes made him think a cure would never be found; not to for their bodies and not for their souls.
I went out to the White Planes on a light hovercraft with one of my brother's helpers, and joined the last part of the processions out of respect for Daio. Maybe I didn't want to take part in them because I couldn’t connect to the whole story. Actually I detested it. From the air I could see the plains had been carved into steps, one above the next. The processions moved slowly, a long line stretching to the new burial plot.
A dense network of small white rectangles covered the plains, spreading from the edge of town, until they covered half of the huge open space. I wondered how many years they’d been burying people there, and then tried to calculate how many years remained until the plains were completely covered. The Doctor said that this was when the legends said the sins of the forefathers would be redeemed.
I joined Daio at the burial of a brother and sister. They were just kids, aged five and eight. Their parents and six other siblings followed behind their coffins. Daio and the Doctor followed a few steps behind them and when the procession passed by I fell in beside my brother. Daio nodded to me. I assumed he wanted to thank me for coming. I’d already told him what I thought about all this and he knew I was coming only for him.
The procession stopped in front of some steps carved into the rock that led up to the White Planes. The family and a few relatives followed the coffins up the steps and the rest remained behind or joined other processions. We stood to the side of the trail and let other people pass us by. A few of them nodded to the Doctor and others to Daio. Maybe they didn't recognize me.
“They’ve already buried one child here,” said the Doctor.
I looked at the coffins moving slowly up the steps.
“They have six more,” I said. It was a bitter jest. He didn’t respond. Though I’d meant they had six additional opportunities, I think the Doctor interpreted my words as a consolation.
“It's so irrational, what is going here,” mumbled Daio. “So inhuman. A brother and sister. So little.”
“You are right,” said the Doctor, “but you are seeing it from the perspective of someone from Seragon.”
“I am seeing it from the perspective of a human being. Are you suggesting they are happy with this?”
“Look at them. Do they look happy?" asked the Doctor. "No, no one is happy with such things. But this is their reality.”
Daio shook his head.
“You think that what happened to Sosi during the last two years was horrible?” continued the Doctor.
Daio quickly looked at me as if the answer was written on my face. “What does that have to do with it?”
“I’m sure he made peace with his new reality, out there in the mountains, when he realized he had no other choice. As long as he didn't think there was another way, he lived with it. The universe is filled with horrors. Sometimes you find little children living in harsh physical and mental conditions and still they are full of life.”
“I don't accept your analysis. Sosi eventually decided to come here,” said Daio.
A procession went by. Another small coffin was in front with parents, children, and a few other people trailing behind.
“It’s like pilgrimage,” I said gazing at the last people as they passed by. “A pilgrimage to the temple of Naan and their children are the sacrifices on the altar,” I went on finishing the thought that was in my mind.
The Doctor wanted to say something, but the approach of a new procession silenced him.
“I will go to Mampas,” I suddenly said.
Daio looked at me for a second, then looked forward again and didn't say anything.
“Are you ready?” asked the Doctor. “You said you needed time.”
“I need to learn Mampasian. Do you have a good teacher?”
“That won't be a problem.”
“What about the other things?” asked Daio. “There are countless details we need to take care of. You can’t leave without proper preparation.”
“I will prepare everything it is possible to prepare.”
“What about the rest?” he asked.
“There are things you cannot prepare for. I will be there; I will have to learn as I go and find solutions as problems arise.”
“Like in the mountains,” said the Doctor.
“I suppose there is some similarity,” I said.
“Are you glad you came back?” asked Daio. “Wouldn't it have been better if you’d stayed in the mountains with your horses? Your chances of survival there were probably higher than they will be in Mampas.”
“You are being too dramatic,” I said. You don't know how dangerous my life was, and you don't know how dangerous it's going to be in Mampas. I will be one of millions of people there. If I’m careful no one will find me.”
“What do you need?” asked the Doctor.
“Just the teacher and a compact handheld terminal.”
“How compact?”
“Pocket size.”
“Those are illegal in Mampas. You’d need a special license for that.”
“They are illegal in many places,” I said.
“And you have a plan?” asked Daio.
“Sort of,” I said.
“Sort of is not good enough,” he replied.
“As I said, I will have to fill in the missing parts after I get there.”
“Why do you need such a small terminal?” asked the Doctor.
“You are going to ship me there in a small box. I’ll use this terminal to disconnect the motion sensor in the warehouse I will arrive at.”
The Doctor stared at me.
“I haven’t scrambled anything yet,” I said. “All of this information is available over the network.”
“Why do they need motion sensors in the warehouses?” asked Daio.
I waited for few seconds, thinking he would figure out the answers as soon as he asked the question.
“Among other things, I assume they use them to prevent people like me from smuggling themselves into Mampas,” I said when he didn't respond.
We remained silent for a while, looking at people passing by.
“I can arrange everything you ask,” said the Doctor.
We kept standing there, each lost in his own thoughts, watching the people pass by, nodding to them from time to time.
I went back to wondering why I was doing all this. Maybe the scenes from the day had made me think I simply could not live in a place where people die for no good reason. I could have left, but Daio could have left me behind too when our Mother had died. He could have thrown me in one of the orphan houses, and gone looking for a better life, but he hadn’t.
“This one is the last for today,” said the Doctor gazing at the approaching procession. “We can join it, and continue to their burial site, or go home after they pass us.”
Daio nodded. “I will stay, but you can go back,” he said looking at me.
I went back to the hovercraft and the helper took me home. I thought about the risks involved in a trip to Mampas. I had no doubt a careful and well-prepared plan would be safer than the uncertainty of life in the hills and valleys of Naan.
Three months later I left the house and walked towards a car that was waiting out front. Cargo shuttles had landed this morning and were starting to unload. In an hour, they would begin loading local cargo onto
conveyers to be shipped to Mampas. The car would take me to one of the warehouses at the airport. There a box, specially designed for me, was waiting. It would take me to Mampas. Excited, I walked towards the car. At the door I turned to see Daio's gloomy face, Dug's apathetic look and the questioning face of the Doctor. I smiled to myself for being able to read them so clearly. We’d said our goodbyes earlier and from now on there would be no connection between us. The infiltration of the shuttle was foremost in my mind, and as far as they were concerned I’d left my sanity somewhere in Naan's mountains.
After I arrived at the warehouse I walked into the large box. It contained a special fabric, crafted by local artists, and was addressed to a known art merchant in Mampas. The inside of the box was designed so that I was able to get out once the flight was underway. If I pushed the fabric to one side I could even lay down inside the box comfortably.
The loading of the shuttle would be the first test. Usually the loaders barely looked at the tags attached to every cargo container. They simply scanned the tags with their readers and loaded all the information they needed into their pads. This information was fed directly into the network in order to verify the address and the content of the cargo. Still, in places prone to smuggling, the loaders were more alert. Overloaded containers, oversized cargo, or anything that had a problem with the address for its destination, received special care.
This was the part of the plan that everyone was worried about, since my box was heavier than expected. Daio sent three of his people dressed as airport porters to help the shuttles crew with loading. They had orders to distract them when my box reached the upper deck for scanning.
For some reason the shuttle crew heard about the plague that had swept across Naan a few months ago, and therefore they refused to let Daio’s people aboard. At the last moment, when my box was a third of the way up the conveyor, one of Daio's people called the loading team leader and said that one of their people was feeling sick. He advised them to stay within the shuttle. The rate of loading suddenly increased and my box, along with all the other boxes on the conveyer, was rushed inside the shuttle and the hatch was sealed.