New Tales from Hilbert Space

by Gabriel Just

these traitors.”

  “No!” Peppita shouted. “Sutu should be the High Priest. Don’t you see that he was the one who summoned this ship?”

  “There is no need for violence,” Flinton added. “Let us talk about it, we won’t harm you.” Flinton’s scales turned purple again, a process he could not control.

  “The color of the Great Salvager!” one of the cultists shouted in awe. Most of them never saw a Skaren before and never saw them change the color of their scales. They did not know what to believe anymore and exchanged confused looks.

  The ship from the pit became longer and longer. It was from a design Peppita had never seen before and definitely not the factory setting of a normal autoyard. Not even Flinton, who knew a lot about ships, could tell what it was. All they knew was that it was getting bigger and bigger. It did not take long until the ship broke through the roof of the temple. And it was still not finished. Bits and pieces of the collapsing temple roof fell back into the pit, where they in turn fueled the construction of the giant vessel.

  “I am scared,” Kip confessed. “What kind of ship is this. Have you ever seen something that big?”

  “It must be a world ship or something,” Flinton guessed. ”I did not know that you could build them in such an autoyard. That must be why it is so long and thin. And that may also be the reason why they tapped into the planet’s core.”

  The awestruck cultists watched the giant vessel in complete silence. They completely ignored Rekira’s commands. Suddenly a loud screech echoed through the temple halls. From the hole in the roof a bird descended. It had green and purple feathers and soared around the Pit of Sacrifice in a big circle. After that it landed directly on Sutus head, where it curled up and fell asleep.

  “The Great Salvager has chosen a new High Priest!” one of the cultists shouted. “All hail Sutu, High Priest of the cult of Vexex.”

  “No!” Rekira shouted. “That is not the will of the Great Salvager. He says I am to remain High Priestess. He tells you to kill them. Listen to me!” It did not take her long to realize that nobody was following her orders. All the cultists had already gathered around Sutu and he was telling them about a few reforms he thought of.

  “No!” Rekira screamed. “This is not supposed to happen. Great Salvager, save me!” With these words she jumped into the Pit of Sacrifice and although the Great Salvager did not miraculously spare her live, she nevertheless remained part of the cult, as her molecules were now part of the giant vessel.

  “Can we please go home now,” Kip suggested.

  “You are right, I think we are done here,” Peppita agreed. “Sutu, could you tell us where the Blasting Beetle is, and our other ship, the Insolvency?”

  “The Beetle is still in the hangar. You can have it. But I am afraid the Insolvency was salvaged before you arrived. I am sorry about that. Thanks for all your help. You really showed me a new way.”

  “Don’t mention it. And don’t worry, we will find another way to deal with the bank. I am sure we will find a solution. As long as we have each other and the Blasting Beetle, we are unstoppable. What are you going to do as High Priest? Are you going to tell them that there is no Great Salvager?”

  “What do you mean?” Sutu asked. “What more proof do you need of his existence. He built us a ship, he chose me as a new leader and he even sent a Tuku bird. Everything is true after all. All the ships we salvaged are now part of this giant world ship. There is enough room for everyone. Together we will embark on the Great Journey. Of course I will make some reforms, but you can’t deny that there is a higher power guiding us. How else could you explain today’s events? But we will write down everything that happened today in great detail, so that there can be no misunderstandings, and nobody needs to die because of some translational or interpretational errors.”

  “But aren’t you worried that the same thing will happen again?” Peppita asked. “I mean, your writings will get translated and rewritten, there are bound to be some complications. A thousand years from now, these texts might not even be recognizable anymore. Do you really want to risk that, by centering your whole religion around some text?”

  Sutu thought about that for a moment, but soon came to a conclusion. “I don’t think there is any risk at all. Even if there will be mistakes or misinterpretations, people won’t follow the book to the letter. A thousand years, that is a long time. Who in the right state of mind would take such an old text seriously.”