by Dan Haronian
One morning I woke up early convinced that nothing was really ever going to change on Naan, not without a push. I thought about all that had happened to me on Mampas. I’d scrambled into Shor, made enemies of the Desertians, and had many brushes with death, but who really cared? The Naanites didn’t care. I was starting to doubt the Doctor and his people would be able to do anything with the information I’d brought back. I think I would have doubted this even if Naan were normal. On the other hand, in a normal place they would have found the solution to this plague a long time ago. Everything that had happened grew out of the strangeness of Naan and the odd thinking of its people.
I couldn’t go back to sleep so I went downstairs, made a cup of tea, and went outside. I sat at the table and looked at the horizon. Mampas was about to set and it was large and bright right in front of me, hanging just above the horizon. I found the yellow swath of the desert and thought about Su-thor. Would her life on Naan will be better? As odd as the place was, maybe it was still better than the desert of Mampas.
A man suddenly appeared silhouetted against the setting planet. I thought I must be dreaming as the figure walked toward me. Two more silhouettes flanked the first. I sat up in my chair and blinked my eyes. I couldn't see their faces, or clothes, only dark images walking towards me.
“Sosi Plaser,” called the man. I recognized the accent and my heart fell. He was tall. When he came closer I could see his face. He looked old, his face burned. He wore a yellow hat and gray hair peeked from beneath it.
He nodded to one of the people behind him. The man walked hurried forward, yanked me to my feet, and held my arm tightly. The older man came forward and bound my hands with pair of handcuffs.
“What…” I mumbled.
“We need to talk,” he said and turned away. I was pushed along behind him.
“Who are you?” I asked although I knew they were Desertians.
Suddenly I decided this must be a dream. I’d been gazing at Mampas and then they’d suddenly walked out of its distant, yellow desert. It must be a dream.
We passed through the fence surrounding the yard and walked to a large car that was parked in the street. Someone opened the door. The old man ducked inside and I was pushed in behind him. The door was slammed behind me with a thump.
The back seat of the car had two long bench seats, one in front of the other. The man sat across from me. Since the car was local we were hunched in face to face.
He removed his hat, and ran his fingers through his graying hair.
“I am a commander in the rebel army,” he said and looked at my face. “I was sent here by Oziri-Dos, to kill you.”
“I am sorry for…” I started to mumble.
“Oziri-Dos is very angry," he interrupted me. "He is hurt and aches for his daughter.”
“She is fine,” I said.
He leaned back and slapped my face.
“She is not fine. Because of you she is now a traitor. She is alive only because Oziri-Dos is the chief commander. If for some reason Oziri-Dos loses his position or his life, you can be sure that someone will come here and settle the score with both of you.”
“I didn't want this,” I said, “I didn't…”
“You kidnapped his daughter,” he called.
“It was she…” I started to say when he leaned back again and punched me in the face with all his strength.
“You kidnapped her spirit. Her soul. I don't know what you did to brainwash her, but apparently you succeeded.”
I wanted to tell him I’d done nothing. She’d done what she’d done on her own. I wanted to say that her life on Mampas must have been hard if she preferred something else, but my burning face and spinning head made it clear this was not an open discussion.
“I am sorry,” I mumbled again. “I didn't mean to cause him any harm. If I had known where all this would lead, I would have done things differently.”
Two people leaning against the car’s window distracted me. I looked at him but they drew my attention away again. They were Naanite. They made no attempt to look inside, but only leaned on the car. I guessed that they didn't know we were inside.
“Oziri-Dos asked me to tell you that he is going to let you live for a little while longer. You are now officially responsible for his daughter’s life. You probably remember the explosives we implanted in your body? You are only alive because we didn’t activate them.”
He pulled a device from his pocket, attached it to my shoulder and pressed a small white button. A shiver went through my arm and spread to the rest of my body.
“It's only a test,” he said, and then moved the device to the other shoulder and pressed the button. I felt as if I was going to faint.
“Relax. I’m only charging the controllers and making sure everything is functioning properly. I’m also checking to see that you haven't tampered with anything.”
“I didn't,” I said immediately and jerked back.
“Of course you didn’t,” he replied and repeated the procedure with my left hip and then my right hip. I felt like I was losing control over my body. My hands and legs shook and my breathing grew heavy.
“Looks okay,” he said and smiled. “I will spare you the test of the one in your head. The effect on the nerves could shut you down for few days and you have a new job to do, right?”
I nodded breathing heavily.
“If one hair falls from her head, you better be near a hospital. It doesn’t take long to bleed out after losing a hand or a leg. If something serious happens to her we'll come and destroy everything that is dear to you, before taking your head off.”
He leaned to the side and knocked on the window. One of the Naanites leaning on the window turned around, looked at me, and smiled. A deep scar ran from below his left eye along his cheek. He waved to the man across from me and then patted his friend on the shoulder. They both disappeared.
“It wasn't hard to find people to keep an eye on you and your brothers. You are foreign, like the conquerors of Mampas. Not everyone here likes you. If something happens, you can be sure that we'll know about it. Anything. If her breakfast does not appear on the table on time we'll know.” He clenched his teeth so hard I thought he was going to hit me again. “Lean over,” he said.
He unlocked the handcuffs and shoved me toward the door as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me anymore. I opened door opened and fell out. The car lurched forward and disappeared.
I went back to the front yard and sat in the chair and tried to absorb everything that had happened. My cup of tea was still warm, but so was my body. I cleaned the blood from my nose but my face was a bit swollen. My body had been so battered for so long that I didn’t think anyone would notice the fresh bruises. There was no reason tell anyone about the explosives in my body since I assumed there was no way to remove them. Maybe that was a mistake.
When Su-thor came out tears came to my eyes. I wanted to tell her so badly, but I didn't want to make her feel sorry for me. I didn't want her to know that I was her slave, that if anything happened to her I would be blown to pieces.
I ate breakfast with everyone. After the meal I told them I didn't feel well and went back to my room. I slept for a few hours, but didn't leave my bed after I woke up.
I thought of the explosives in my body. Their coming back to my life made me feel nothingness. There was nothing I could do. I pushed my thoughts away from them and tried to think how to take care of Su-thor and how to gain back the strength I had before I left to Mampas.
The explosives distracted my thoughts. Oziri-Dos doesn’t need to come here in order to kill me. I had no doubt he’d already figured out how to activate these explosives from Mampas. Any radio station in Naan would work to transmit the signal and with the developing network it would only get easier. All he needed to do was to make sure Su-thor wasn’t near me. Maybe that was what I need to do. Stay close to her. But maybe I shouldn't.
I knew I could scramble the network if I knew what the transmission code wa
s. I doubt Oziri-Dos kept it on the network and even if he did the only way to find it was to scramble into the network on Mampas and risk everyone on Naan.
These thoughts were still in my mind a week later as I made my way to the University of Naan to meet the Doctor. I was walking down one of the streets, along a row of houses near the outskirts of the town. The building that housed the University of Naan was far beyond the end of the street, isolated in open space. A wind rose as I passed the last house on the street. I stopped some distance from the university building and looked at it. I had long ago stopped chuckling when I heard the phrase Naan University, but standing here and looking at the building, I could not avoid it.
The building was old, big, and impressive, compared to other buildings on Naan. Green fields unfolded beyond it and a few tall trees stood nearby. This was how the Doctor had described the building to me; an isolated stone building at the north edge of the city. It was as if people tried to avoid any contact with it. A white wooden fence surrounded the building on three sides. Wide stone stairs led to the entrance level, where four massive marble columns supported the entrance. Just past the columns was a large foyer, and beyond that were two large wooden doors.
I passed the fence and walked to the stairs. Their edges were worn smooth and rounded. I was surprised. I wondered what could cause such wear in a place so seldom visited. I crossed the foyer and pushed open one of the heavy wooden doors. The smell of old wood surrounded me as I entered the building. The door closed behind me with a boom that echoed in the space around me. In front of me were stairs. A decorated wooden handrail paralleled them to the second floor.
I was looking for room 221 on the second floor. That was what the Doctor had told me. Not a room but a laboratory, he’d added. Someone passed by and nodded politely to me, but overall the place looked deserted. I went up the stairs thinking about the purpose of my visit. I didn't know what to expect. All I wanted was some indication that everything I’d been through had been worth it. I still didn't know if Shor had given me the information we needed, but I wanted to know that the Doctor was doing everything in his power to make sure it was being fully evaluated. I was not encouraged now that I could see the place was deserted.
“Hello?” said someone and pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Hello,” I answered.
I stopped a few stairs from the top of the staircase and looked at him. I took a deep breath and climbed the remaining stairs.
“Welcome. I am Kashir Hasis.”
“Yes, I remember you,” I said.
“The Doctor asked me to apologize for not being here himself. He had an urgent matter to attend to and he asked me to meet you in his place.”
“The Doctor,” I mumbled and looked around me again. “I wanted…” I started to say but stopped.
“I hope I can answer all your questions regarding the medicine we are developing,” he said.
“Yes, thank you,” I said.
“It's a great honor for me to speak with you again.”
I forced a smile to my face. I remembered how reluctant he was to cooperate when I first brought up the idea that the pool might have something to do with the plague. I wondered if it was still affecting his judgment.
“You did want to talk about the medicine?”
“Yes,” I said hesitantly.
“Then I am your man,” he said and smiled.
“You work with the Doctor?” I asked although I knew this.
“Yes, I am in charge of chemistry. As you must understand chemistry is at the heart of the matter.”
I nodded. “I would also like to hear about the other option.”
“The other option?” he wondered. “You think we are wrong?”
“I don't know. I didn't have the chance to really examine the information I brought back so it's hard to for me to know what to think.”
“It's not a matter of opinion. We did a thorough scientific analysis and you can trust that we know what we are doing.”
I wasn’t so sure, but I didn't say anything. I felt as if he was telling me that since this is not my field of expertise I should not interfere. It was true but I didn’t trust anyone on Naan. Including the young guy in front of me.
He smiled again, his annoyance fading. “In any case I will be happy to explore either option with you.”
“I don't want to take up too much of your time,” I said but only out of politeness. “I suppose I can go over it by myself.”
“Over what?” he wondered.
“Over the information I brought back.”
“Well, in that case your visit will be very short.”
I looked at him wondering.
“We are only talking about one or two paragraphs. It will take you just a few moments to read them, but I doubt it will ease your mind.”
He smiled again and waved towards a corridor to his right. “Let's go to my office. We can talk about it there.”
We walked through empty corridors, our steps echoing, until he stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Holiday,” he said, standing next to the open door. “The plague is coming,” he added.
His office was small by any measure; a desk, a terminal, and minimal space to maneuver. He walked around his desk and sat in his chair.
“Please sit,” he said waving to the small chair that was in front of his desk. The room was so small that I needed to close the door behind me before I could move the chair far enough back from the desk to sit down.
“I don't suppose this terminal is connected to the network,” I said as I tried to find a comfortable position.
“Of course not,” said Kashir.
“You know why I am asking,” I said shifting again in my seat. I didn't know if he understood the consequences of this information reaching the wrong hands.
“I know enough," he said watching me fidget. “I apologize,” he said. “I should have brought in an appropriate chair.”
“That’s fine.”
He connected the neck sensor and looked at the monitor to his right.
The gases released from the underground cavities contain non-toxic molecules if exposure occurs in small doses. When the molecules enter the reservoirs, and evaporate into the atmosphere from the surface of the water, they go through a complex process of chemical disassembly and reassembly. One of the byproducts of this reaction is a deadly molecule that enters the respiratory system, adheres to the lung tissue, and starts a process that leads to inflammation. Protecting the population from the inflammation process requires reengineering of the molecular coupling sites.
“This is the first option,” said Kashir.
“Gasses, byproducts, deadly molecules, lung inflammation,” I mumbled. “Sounds simple.”
“I don’t think it's that simple. On the other hand, everything seems simple once you fully understand it.”
I shifted my gaze between him and the screen. He looked like a young man, but he spoke like someone who was much older and more experienced.
“So, how do you want to do this?” he asked.
“Do what?” I asked in return.
“Do you want to go into the details? Shall I explain why we choose this one to work on and why it looks like the alternative that it's a genetic thing has very little chance of viability?” he asked.
“Yes, please explain your thought process,” I said.
“Certainly. I analyzed them both, and for this one,” he looked at the screen, “I built a model that is based on two hundred and thirty two steps that take place in the atmosphere to create this deadly molecule. The process creates a heavy, sinking molecule, exactly as this paragraph predicts.”
“How…” I said. I looked at him and tried to rephrase my thoughts.
“How do I know it's true?” he said and I nodded.
“I have built a few dozen models in my life, and I can tell when a model is stable or not. This model is very stable and I am sur
e this is exactly what's happening.”
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Twenty five,” he said, but not before pausing for a few seconds.
“And you’ve built a few dozen models like this?”
He smiled. “Why is this surprising you?”
“Why shouldn’t it surprise me?”
He nodded and his smile disappeared. “Don't judge me.”
“I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend you.” I said. “I am not judging you, I’m judging this place.”
“I will be more than happy to discuss the details of my model if that is what you want.”
I shook my head. With my limited knowledge of chemistry, I eventually would need to trust his word. That made any such a deep discussion about the model pointless.
“We are working now on a passive molecule that will temporarily connect to these sites in the lungs. The coupling sites, if I use the words you brought back.”
“How is your progress?”
“We are close. There were a few obstacles but we got over them.”
“Obstacles?”
He concealed a sigh. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“If it's not too much trouble.”
Kashir leaned back. “The medicine is being manufactured in a private laboratory on Mampas, one of the labs that is in their chemical industrial center. One of the components of the medicine is a rare compound called Sesntsion that wasn't available on Mampas. Because of the urgency the lab ordered it for us only we’ve found out that this special order is coming in from Seragon.” He giggled. “You can imagine what went through the Doctor’s mind when he heard about it. He left immediately for Mampas to explain to the lab managers that they must look for a different source. He also insisted that they explain to their source on Seragon that they made a mistake and that the order was for Sesntion. To mask the whole thing further he has asked the Lab to order a large quantity of Sesntion, as well as three other substances that when mixed together form a fertilizer we use here.” He giggled again. “This cover story was my idea.”