Captain Ahn turned to Barla and said, “Maybe you should spend a few days with Amanda teaching her about Tualan culture and terminology.”
Barla nodded her head and replied, “I was just thinking the same thing! Amanda, I’ll bring you lunch today, and we can start your Tualan lessons, okay?”
“It would be wonderful,” Amanda agreed, “I’m sure I have a lot to learn.”
The morning went quickly. Amanda finished entering and filing four stacks of bills of lading. She had just picked up another two stacks from the floor when Barla poked her head through the door and asked, “Are you ready for lunch yet?”
“More than ready! Come on in, Barla!”
Barla opened the door the rest of the way, and she walked through the opening, laden with books and food. She used her hip to close the door behind her. Amanda jumped up from behind the desk to help relieve Barla of some of her burden.
“Do I have this much to know?” Amanda inquired. “I hope you don’t expect me to learn it all today!”
“No, no, my dear; we have days to get you up to speed!” Barla replied cheerfully. “Food, however, will be first.”
She continued into the room and set a small basket onto the desk. She reached into the container and removed a loaf of fresh baked bread, a block of soft, white cheese, a jar of what looked like marinara sauce, a knife, and a couple of plates. She assembled sandwiches and placed them on two separate plates.
They ate in companionable silence. Amanda found the sandwich to be a nice light lunch which was satisfying without making her feel too full.
Barla sorted through the many books she had brought with her. She stacked them up in the order in which she wanted to go over them.
Amanda noted the top book looked like an atlas. She was curious about how it would be different since Barla had said it was still the same land configurations, just different names. Amanda wondered if major cities were located in the same places on both planes of reality. She finished her sandwich and said, “I guess we should get started with my lessons so I won’t get anyone into trouble with my ignorance.”
Barla nodded and picked up the top book which was an atlas. “This book,” she said, “is very special because I have gone through and marked the Earth terms in parenthesis next to what they are called in Tuala. Please don’t let anyone see this book or there’d be a lot of unwanted questions to answer.”
She flipped through the text until she found the page she was searching for. She turned the book around and laid it on the table for Amanda to view. With her finger she pointed at Cresdon, “This,” she said, “is where we are. You would know it as Cancun in Mexico, right?”
Amanda leaned in closer and nodded; then she pointed at an area called Pantano on the peninsula of Florida and said, “Neal and I set sail somewhere along here at Boca Raton.” She traced their sailing path with her index finger and finally came to Cook Island, noted as Isla Mivua, inside the Bermuda Triangle, and said, “And this, I think, is where we ran into trouble with the storm. It’s not really very far from here is it?”
“It’s further than you think, but, given the time you were with Petre, it makes sense. You will also note, America, as well as Mexico, does not have individual states, just regions as divided by the Elders.
“Since you’ve given me your sailing path, I’ll talk to Ahn about possible places to look for Neal and your yacht.
“I think you’ll notice the land masses on Tuala appear to be in the same locations as those on Earth; however, the topography is not always the same. Geography has never been my strong suit, so this is as far as we’ll go with the lesson. I’ll leave the book with you to review on your own. Okay?”
Curious to see how other locations were different, Amanda reluctantly shut the atlas, set it to the side of the desk, and replied, “Okay, what’s next?”
“Well, you need to know Tualan history as it is taught to the children. I brought this children’s book to give you the easiest explanation. I’m sure you’ll have questions after you’ve read it. Let’s wait until you’re done before we go over anything together.”
Amanda reached for the book which was entitled Genero. “What does this mean?” Amanda asked.
“It’s an old term which I think we would translate as To Create or maybe Creation,” Barla replied. “The book covers the creation of the worlds, Jehoban and his wayward student named Lucinden, and the creation of the Elders which we have today. It’s actually very interesting; I look forward to discussing it with you when you’re done.”
“It sounds interesting,” Amanda replied as she placed Genero on top of the atlas at the side of the desk. “What’s next?” she asked.
“This one’s a little in left field, but I thought you’d better know the history of transportation. You won’t need to read it cover to cover, just scan through it and read the sections you find interesting.” Barla handed it over and indicated Amanda should add it to the stack since she was already picking up the next book, “I think you will enjoy this book about Tualan food. This next book is about Tualan occupations. I thought you should probably know what people are doing around you.”
Barla paused as she picked up the last book off of the desk. She ran her fingers lightly over the title of the book and spoke the name softly, “Facultas which means Ability. This book is very important. It explains the abilities which the Tualan people possess and use daily.”
“What makes it so important?”
“It explains how people do the most extraordinary things without thinking anything of it; things like teleportation, telekinesis, translation, deception, healing, amplification. Basically, anything the mind can think of, it can create. There aren’t any limitations. This is the main difference between people from Earth and people from Tuala. This is why the Elders are so interested in the old souls. We are genetically the same, but without these abilities. I personally think the Elders are trying to figure out how to block Tualans from being able to use their abilities, so the Elders will have complete power. At least, it’s how it seems to me.”
“Wow, how interesting! So everyone but us has some sort of ability, huh?” Amanda asked. “I remember seeing an odd shimmer around Petre’s boat. Does it have something to do with his ability?”
“I’m sure it did. Do you remember if Petre wore a ring on his left hand?”
Amanda only had to think about it for a second since Petre’s ring was about the first thing she remembered seeing when she woke up on his boat. She answered, “Yes, it had a silver colored band with an onyx stone in it. Does it signify something?”
“Yes, let’s look it up in the book.” Barla flipped to the back of the book and looked in the index for stone colors. She found the page for onyx and turned to it quickly. “It says here:
The onyx stone symbolizes deception. If the stone is set in wood, the bearer has minimal control, usually only in the realm of making a person believe a verbal lie. If the stone is set in gold metal, the bearer is able to control an easy deception, but not for long periods of time. If the stone is set in platinum metal, the bearer is considered a master at all aspects of deception, including illusion. Extreme care should be taken around a master, and nothing the ring bearer says should be believed.
“It would explain why all of the boats who passed us never made any indication they could see us. Right?” Amanda asked and then continued when Barla nodded, “But how come I could see through it?”
“Like I said, people from Earth are not as affected by the abilities. You saw a shimmer because he was holding the illusion, but you saw through it because you aren’t from Tuala,” Barla replied.
“Wow! It’s actually pretty cool,” Amanda sighed. “I guess I should probably get back to work.” She gestured toward the stack of books, “With this fascinating reading material I may find it harder to concentrate on all of this mundane paperwork.”
“I have every belief you will get everything done; including your homework,” Barla replied as she gathered up
their dishes and leftovers and packed them back into the container. She tucked the basket handle onto her elbow as she stood up. “I’ll be back with your dinner tonight. At least this way I can be sure you won’t work too late.” Barla hesitated for a moment and then leaned forward and gave a quick hug to a surprised Amanda before she turned and swept out of the room.
Amanda found it difficult to get back into the rhythm of work again; each time she finished entering a stack of paper into the patil, her eyes would wander back to the stack of books. She fought the urge to open a volume just to see what it might contain. She shut her eyes, picked up the stack of paper, and turned to the filing cabinet. On her way back to the patil with a new stack of paper, she found she had to quicken her step as she walked past the desk.
A chuckle escaped her lips; those books are like a drug to which I’m addicted, she thought to herself. She desperately wanted to know all there was to know about the Tualan culture. She believed Barla had barely scratched the surface of things of interest to introduce to her. Disgusted with herself, Amanda picked up the stack of books and deposited them on the floor behind the desk to get them out of her line of sight.
No wonder Barla stayed here, Amanda thought, I might even consider staying for a while longer after I find Neal just to learn about these amazing people.
She was just standing up from behind the desk when movement caught her eye. She startled badly as Ceren opened the office door. “Sorry,” Ceren apologized, “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone right there,” she replied quickly as she waved her hand to indicate it was nothing. Once she caught her breath, she noticed Ceren was holding a stack of papers and asked, “Are those for me to enter?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry to add to your workload. It looks like you’re making good progress, though. Have you had any trouble with anything?”
“No, other than some really bad handwriting, it’s been pretty easy.”
“Easy?” he asked incredulously, shaking his head in wonder and adding, “This is the most tedious and boring job. I wonder how you don’t fall asleep after the tenth one!”
“I’m really grateful for the work, you know,” Amanda replied. “I don’t have very many labor skills, but I do have to admit it isn’t very exciting!” She chuckled along with Ceren.
“Where do you want me to set this stack down?” He looked around the office with more than a little bit of wonder at the progress she had made. “It looks like you’ve actually created order to this chaos and I don’t want to mess it up for you.”
“Right there’s fine,” she said while pointing to the corner of the desk where she had just removed the stack of books.
He deposited the new stack and turned to Amanda, “I also wanted to apologize for not checking in with you more. I kind of left you abruptly the first day and it wasn’t fair for you. We’ve had so much happen this past couple of days, things haven’t been normal since you showed up!”
Looking at the scared expression appearing on Amanda’s face at his last comment, Ceren quickly amended his comment with, “No, it’s not what I meant. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. We’ve had more vessels appearing all at once; then we had a big storm hit in the middle of the Gulf, and then talking to all the families of the lost seamen. It’s just been hectic, that’s all I meant to say. Sorry.”
“No, Ceren, I’m the one who should be apologizing to you! I just don’t want to cause trouble for anyone, and I’m overly sensitive to it, please understand,” Amanda pleaded.
“Believe me, I do understand! Captain Ahn and Barla took me in, too, when I was young. I wasn’t nearly as helpful then as you’ve been, either,” he chuckled. His smile transformed his features so much she had to smile back at him.
A noise out front let him know a customer had arrived. He headed for the door and said, “It’s good talking to you. I gotta get back to the front. See ya later.”
The room felt lonely as soon as he left. Amanda realized then how much she missed just being around people. She supposed it was worse because she knew she was not allowed to just walk out front and see people. Nothing like wanting what you can’t have, she thought to herself.
Needing a change of perspective she crossed the room and opened the door; she listened carefully to make sure she could leave without being seen. Hearing the customers were occupied with talking to Ceren, she quickly walked the other direction and closed herself in the washroom.
She filled a glass of water and drank slowly while looking at herself in the mirror. She noticed, not for the first time, her skin had an odd tone to it which only accented the dark circles under her eyes. Maybe some exercise will help, she thought.
The room was just large enough for her to do a series of jumping jacks. After completing a second set of fifty, she looked at her reflection again in the mirror. While her cheeks had a pink flush to them, the underlying tone was still off-color. She shrugged at herself and decided to return to work.
Back in the office she sat down in front of the patil and sighed with resignation as she settled a new paper stack on the desk in front of her. She picked up the top piece of paper and began entering the bill of lading into the system.
Chapter Five
ELDER DEBBON had spent a few hours reviewing all of the things he had seen in Amanda’s recent history. He wondered about how many old souls were actually residing in Tuala without discovery. While he knew many people were afraid of the people from Earth, he did not share their view. More than once he had thought to ask Jehoban why the two worlds were kept separate even though they clearly had access to one another through the Ascension Gates.
He did not have much more time to keep Amanda so he sat down at the head of her bed and touched his fingertips to her temples once again…
Amanda’s days became a routine; boredom was no longer an issue. She awoke early, discussed Tualan trivia while she ate breakfast with either Captain Ahn or Barla. Her morning would be filled with data entry and filing, followed by a quiet, solitary lunch (usually provided by Ceren) where she would eat while reading various subjects in the books. As the office started clearing out, cleaning became a part of her afternoon schedule as well as the paperwork, until evening when her isolation was broken by the company of either Captain Ahn or Barla bringing her something to eat. They would again discuss random customs and ideas about the Tualan culture sparking more interest in Amanda. Consequently, she would then stay up late into the night, reclining on her cot to read more about different subjects as they caught her eye.
Sometimes she would skim through the books, reading the captions under the pictures which would then lead her to research something in another book. Amanda was grateful for the diverse topics to round out her accelerated Tualan education.
She was fascinated by the Tualan modes of transportation which most citizens were able to utilize. At first, she believed she had misread the passage, but upon re-reading it, she discovered the vehicles, known as telepods, were powered by crystals which eliminated the problem of dirty emissions. The color and clarity of the crystal drive determined the speed and reliability of the telepod. Regardless of which crystal was used, the transport was controlled and steered by the mind of the person operating the vessel. The telepods did not require tires or even paved roads because they levitated. Yet the most interesting aspect was the actual travel in a telepod because it was accomplished with teleportation and not with the slow and tedious movement with which she was accustomed to on Earth.
She had spoken to Barla about the telepods and discovered how diverse they were throughout the world. Barla had explained they were mainly used for transporting single people or even small groups in the home setting, much like cars on Earth. She also talked about larger models being used for mass transportation similar to airplanes on Earth.
Barla explained the crystal drive technology was only as good as the operator using it. Smaller telepods were unpredictable in h
igh wind, so most Tualans were afraid to fly over water where the wind could pose many dangers to the operator. As a result, they did not usually bring telepods to the harbor, for fear of being blown out over the sea.
“Wait, I thought the telepods teleported! Why would water be an issue?”
“Telepods don’t usually teleport to their exact landing location. Therefore, it is necessary for manual flight to occur until a landing can be achieved. If the coordinates bring them in too close to the water, then the winds can cause a lot of disturbance which then makes the telepod difficult to operate manually.”
Amanda was surprised to hear not all people had telepods; not just because of financial reasons, but because they did not have the mental facility to operate them. She chuckled as she told Barla, “I guess it really brings home the idea of driving being a privilege and not a right, as they say on Earth.”
Amanda realized her limited interaction with people would not have allowed her to see a telepod; having only been in the ocean and at the harbor, she would not have glimpsed any of these marvels. She wondered if she would ever have the opportunity to get a ride in one.
It sure would be something to talk about when I get home, she thought to herself. When I get home, she repeated to herself; the idea was both intoxicating and depressing at the same time. Will anyone believe what I’ve been through when I get back? Will they think I am crazy or delusional? Will I get to go back? Will I be alone or will I find Neal? Shaking her head to redirect the flow of negative thoughts she again picked up the book on transportation, searching for other aspects she’d be expected to know about as a Tualan. Barla has found happiness here; if I can’t go back, I pray I’ll find the same kind of happiness. The thought brought her something in which to place her hope.
Amanda struggled over what to make of the book entitled Genero or Creation. Barla had said it was a historical document written for children, but the story was so fantastic as to border on a fairy tale. If everything from the book were to be believed, it would mean God, using the name Jehoban, lived on Tuala with the people. More disturbing, however, was the idea of the Devil, known in Tuala as Lucinden, also lived among them.
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