Redemption Song

by Henry A. Burns

  Bright Sunlight waited until the female Rynn left the shuttle bay. He smiled to himself. That’s exactly the kind of woman that core needs, he thought in approval. He looked at the men. The human had crawled halfway into an access port on the craft.

  It was a strange craft, triangular in shape, with a central transparent blister. It looked both fast and deadly. Like a silver Swift Strike, he thought. Bright Sunlight had been a pilot in his youth, and part of him yearned to fly the strange ship. He raised his crest into a friendly position and walked over to the craft. “Greetings of the day,” he said.

  One of the Rynn men covered his eyes respectfully. “And to you, Bright Sunlight,” he said. “I don’t know if you remember me. I am Red Clouds Paint the Sky. We met just before the Seeker embarked.” He indicated the others. “May I introduce my core: Black Rocks, Frozen River …” He smiled, and his crest waggled. “And those long legs belong to Joseph Franklin.” He kicked the side of the ship. “Come out, Joseph.”

  The human dragged itself out of the access port. “What’s going … oh, hello.”

  “Joseph Franklin, this is Bright Sunlight, Kasumi’s father,” Red Clouds Paint the Sky said.

  “Oh.” The human stood up. He looked down at Bright Sunlight. “Nice to meet you.” He appeared to look longingly at the ship.

  “You can get back to making the Shrike deadlier later, Joseph,” Red Clouds Paint the Sky chided. He turned to Bright Sunlight. “You’ll have to forgive our core brother, but once he gets an idea into his head, he becomes … fixated.”

  “I do not,” protested the human.

  “Tell that to someone who does not live with you,” Black Rocks retorted. “Sometimes we have to drag him from here.” The other members of the core nodded in agreement.

  Bright Sunlight could not help but laugh. “I have met driven people before,” he said. “It’s a good thing you have a …” He trailed off. “You truly are a core group, aren’t you?” he said in wonder.

  “A strong one,” Black Rocks said in pride. “And no, Light of Three Moons will not change that,” he said to the human in scolding tones. “She will just make it stronger.”

  “Listen to your core brother,” Bright Sunlight found himself saying. “Spirits.” He shook his head. “I am a fool.” He covered his eyes. “The truth of what you are is like the sun,” he said formally. “If I am wrong about this, what else am I wrong about?” His crest lowered. “Is it true that you built this ship by yourself?” he asked instead.

  “Well, me and the fabricator,” the human replied. “God, do I love the fabricator.”

  “He taught himself to use it in less than a day,” Black Rocks said proudly. “Without a Torque.”

  “We’re building more of them,” Red Clouds Paint the Sky added. “But the Shrike is the first, the prototype,” he said. “And the one he tests everything out on.”

  “I see,” Bright Sunlight said. “And is it true you plan to go and fight the Polig-Grug?” He asked. “Or the Zaski?” He pointed to the ship. “In that?” The entire core nodded. “Aren’t you afraid? You could die. You could be eaten.”

  “Anything that tries eating me or my core better have an industrial-size bottle of antacids,” Franklin vowed. “Cause we ain’t gonna go down easy.” He bared his teeth, and Bright Sunlight took a step backward. “And I bite back.”

  Bright Sunlight glanced at the Rynn members of this core. Spirits, but they’re amused! he thought. They actually believe they can defeat … His thought broke off. He again covered his eyes briefly. “Thank you for speaking to me,” he said. “I have much to think about.”

  Bright Sunlight walked slowly away.

  30

  ZENPATHY

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Blunt,” greeted the visitor. He was a tall, thin, and slightly stooped man. He was pale, bald, and bearded. Jeremy liked him immediately.

  “Good morning … doctor?” Jeremy asked.

  “Monhasses, Edwin Monhasses,” the man replied. “Call me Ed.”

  “Well, Ed. Since I already have two physicians watching my every move, I must assume you are a … psychologist?” Jeremy asked.

  “As perceptive as advertised,” Dr. Monhasses replied. “Though to be more exact, I am a neurobiologist. Simply put, I study how the brain functions. May I come in?”

  Jeremy waved a hand in welcome. “Please,” he said. He turned. “Morning Stars Fade,” he called. “Tea for our guest.”

  A young Rynn male stuck his head out of the kitchen and nodded.

  “Quite an intelligent young man,” Jeremy said to Dr. Monhasses. “But then, most Rynn are intelligent.” He led the doctor to the main room. “Sit anywhere.” Jeremy sat on the couch.

  Dr. Monhasses raised an eyebrow and sat down in a chair opposite the couch, separated from it by a low wooden table. “Why do I feel as if you are amused by me?” he said.

  “That’s because the Teacher probably is,” said the Rynn male. He carried a tray and placed it on the table. “Teacher?”

  “He studies the brain, Morning Stars Fade,” Jeremy informed the young man. “Both biologically and cognitively.”

  The young Rynn male pursed his lips. “Would that mean that he is here to discuss your dreams, Teacher?”

  “Probably not just mine, Morning Stars Fade,” Jeremy replied. “What else can you determine?”

  Morning Stars Fade looked at Dr. Monhasses for a long time before responding. “He makes himself look … harmless.”

  “Patients usually feel more comfortable when their counselor is unthreatening,” Dr. Monhasses said. “I gather this young man is a student of yours.”

  “I see that the Teacher is not the only perceptive human,” Morning Stars Fade replied. “I would have expected a more surprised response.” He covered his eyes briefly. “I would consider it an honor to observe your conversation.”

  “Morning Stars Fade has my confidence,” Jeremy said and gave the young man a fond look. “You may speak freely in front of him.”

  “I suspect disagreeing would cause you to be less than forthcoming,” Dr. Monhasses replied. “As you wish.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pocket recording device. He looked inquiringly at Jeremy. Jeremy nodded. “Thank you.” He picked up a teacup and sipped. “According to my sources, your other student, Kasumi, is having recurring dreams,” he said. “And a recent dream alerted her to your health issues.”

  “I was trying to die,” Jeremy corrected. “Apparently, it wasn’t yet my time.” He smiled. “I’m sure it was just a coincidence.”

  “That would be the most probable explanation,” Dr. Monhasses replied. “But you don’t really think that, do you?” Jeremy just smiled in response. Dr. Monhasses snorted. “The most likely explanation is, as you said, coincidence. The next most likely explanation is that her Torque alerted her. It does monitor your health, after all,” he pointed out. Again Jeremy just smiled. “But also according to my sources, she was not wearing her Torque at the time.”

  “Kasumi does not wear her Torque while she sleeps,” Jeremy confirmed. He looked at Morning Stars Fade.

  “Some Rynn wear Torques at all times, some do not,” Morning Stars Fade said.

  “So we are down to coincidence or something else,” said Dr. Monhasses. “This is the first time either humans or Rynn have spent any time with another sapient species,” he stated. “At the very least, the brain is going to have to … rewire to accommodate the new paradigm.”

  “But you don’t believe that either,” Jeremy replied. “What would be your wildest speculation?” he asked.

  Dr. Monhasses leaned over and turned off the recorder. “Off the record, Mr. Blunt, I think it’s possible that humans and Rynn are in … call it resonance,” he said. “Kasumi was thrown into an extreme situation, and you yourself were near death. Both of you were highly stressed; both of your brains were probably flood
ed with hormones, forcing the latent resonance to cross the threshold into active communication.”

  “You most likely would be laughed at if you published such a speculation,” Jeremy said in mild tones. “But since we are off the record, Kasumi has had dreams that featured my deceased wife. And I myself had a dream where she spoke to me.”

  “Spirits,” whispered Morning Stars Fade. He covered his eyes with his hands.

  “This is confidential,” warned Dr. Monhasses.

  “Morning Stars Fade will not speak of this to anyone unless I give him permission,” Jeremy replied. Morning Stars Fade nodded wide-eyed. “So you believe that humans and Rynn are potentially telepathic with each other?”

  “I wouldn’t call it telepathy,” Dr. Monhasses said. “What we may have is something subtler and more basic.” He smiled. “I call it Zenpathy.”

  “Teacher, my Torque cannot decipher Zenpathy,” Morning Stars Fade said.

  “I believe Dr. Monhasses described it as a resonance,” Jeremy said. He looked at the ceiling. “If I understand the name correctly, you are suggesting that we have an awareness of each other’s effect on the local zeitgeist.” He shrugged. “And somehow Kasumi pulled memories of Mei Lin not directly from me but from how my thinking about her affects those around me through both thoughts and actions.” He looked at the doctor. “Of course, the other possibility is that Mei Lin is indeed speaking to me and Kasumi.”

  A slightly sour expression appeared on Dr. Monhasses’s face. “Of course,” he agreed. Then he shrugged. “Either way, it would be worth knowing, wouldn’t it?” he said.

  “It would indeed, Ed,” replied Jeremy. “It would indeed.”

  31

  PACT

  Bright Sunlight walked out of the shuttle and started to walk slowly across the colony compound. Everywhere he looked, he saw humans and Rynn together. A mixed squad of human and Rynn warriors—the Rynn wearing their war paint—jogged by. A possible core of two humans and a Rynn walked close together. Another mixed group of what were probably technicians walked together, with both humans and Rynn gesticulating and speaking animatedly.

  Bright Sunlight’s crest snapped to its fullest, and he changed direction and headed toward the colony’s administrative center—a complex of three buildings, two in the blocky style humans favored and the one in the center in the rounded style common to Rynn. It was the center building that was his destination.

  He walked through the arch-shaped entranceway and toward a reception area. He stopped at the front desk. “Bright Sunlight of the Hot Springs Clan wishes to speak to Captain Kasumi of the Forest Cabin Clan,” he said. “Forgive me for not making an appointment, but I only just decided that I should speak with her.”

  The Rynn behind the desk gave Bright Sunlight a dispassionate look. “I am Raindrops in a Tide Pool,” he said in introduction. “I decide if your petition merits speaking to Kasumi.”

  Bright Sunlight nodded. “I had come to this planet with the original intention of retrieving my daughter and bringing her home.” His crest lowered but did not flatten. “I learned then that my daughter did not need retrieving.”

  Raindrops in a Tide Pool nodded in agreement.

  “I also learned that my daughter had been given a new name and had created a new clan.” Bright Sunlight continued.

  Again, Raindrops in a Tide Pool nodded.

  “She has made it known that it is her goal to seek out the Polig-Grug and the Zaski.”

  “She wishes to teach them to respect us,” Raindrops in a Tide Pool said. “She wishes to teach them fear.” The last was said with a fierceness that seemed out of place on a Rynn.

  Bright Sunlight nodded. “Rynn and humans may die,” he said.

  “Death comes to all,” the Rynn secretary said. “The Teacher says, ‘Dying is easy; any fool can do it.’” Raindrops in a Tide Pool chittered. “The Teacher also says, ‘It is not the dying but the death that counts.’” He smiled. “I mean to have a good death.”

  “You will go with the Seeker when it hunts?” Bright Sunlight asked in surprise.

  The Rynn secretary nodded.

  Bright Sunlight covered his eyes briefly. “I fear for my daughter, but I fear her scorn more,” he said quietly. “I will sign the pact.”

  “Captain Kasumi is free at the moment,” Raindrops in a Tide Pool said. “I will escort you.”

  “This is Crystal Chandler reporting from the colony,” said the visibly pregnant reporter. “President Newgate’s copter landed just moments ago.” The camera panned to where a large number of people gathered. “The Pacific Alliance, the Eastern Bloc, and the reconstituted EU have all sent representatives to sign probably the most important treaty in human history.” The camera returned to the reporter. “As signing the Magna Carta began the march toward democracy, today’s signing will begin humanity’s march to the stars.”

  The camera panned to a dais that had been erected in the middle of the colony. A number of Rynn were already on the dais, either seated or conversing with each other. Gone were the utilitarian blue or gray ship suits that most people associated with the Rynn; they were replaced by brightly colored robes or tunics over brightly colored trousers. They wore necklaces and bracelets, and earrings hung from their cup-like ears. Most of the female Rynn had flowers woven into their crests. More than ever did they look like birds.

  The camera panned over to where a mixed group of human and Rynn adolescent and preteen children were clustered together. Music could be heard playing, and the teens and preteens formed into parallel lines. The music changed to a bouncy, bass-thumping beat, and the entire group started dancing in unison.

  “I haven’t heard that song in ages,” said Crystal. “They’re doing the wobble dance,” she said in a laugh-filled voice. “And they look like they’re having a blast.”

  The camera continued to watch the adolescents perform the group dance. Occasionally, Crystal would make a comment, but mostly she let the piece of street theatre play out on its own. The camera seemed to reluctantly pull away when the song ended and the youngsters ran off giggling.

  The camera returned to focus on Crystal. “If that doesn’t go viral, nothing will,” she said. A serious expression replaced the cheerful one. “While most of the modern world is hailing this treaty as a great step forward, there are still some parts of the world that continue to react with fear,” she said. “I will quote the Teacher Jeremy Blunt: ‘A life lived in fear is not a life; it is an existence, and a poor one at that.” She covered her eyes briefly. “The Rynn say, ‘Truth is like the sun; it can both blind and illuminate. I cover my eyes to keep from being blinded, but not so much as to prevent illumination.’”

  At her signal, the camera panned the mixed crowd of humans and Rynn. “This is the truth: Rynn and humans will travel the stars together, as friends and allies. We beg you to choose life over existence and choose illumination over blindness.” She smiled. “We’ll be right back.”

  The camera panned to a large gathering of men. While each man was dressed uniquely, the way they dressed was uniformly somber and conservative. There was a Roman Catholic bishop in black sitting next to a Russian Orthodox priest in black sitting next to a rabbi also in black. About the only persons not in black were a Shinto priest from Japan in white and an old Buddhist monk from Tibet in saffron robes. They were also the only two who seemed to laugh more than not.

  Each man had been asked to give a benediction and/or prayer, and one by one they had taken their turn asking for some god’s blessing. Incense was burned, chants were sung, salt was thrown, and drums were beaten.

  Finally, one man, dressed in black silk pajamas, approached the lectern. “Good afternoon,” he began. “I’m not really sure why I am speaking, other than because my granddaughter requested it.” He clapped his hands together twice. “I am Jeremy Blunt, and I ask that our common ancestors attend and listen.”


  The Shinto priest looked at Jeremy in surprise for a moment and then smiled. The Tibetan monk also seemed pleasantly surprised and started to listen more intently.

  Jeremy clapped his hands together again, twice. “Ancestors of humanity, look upon us and give your blessings,” he said in a quiet yet carrying voice. He then clapped his hands together twice again. “Ancestors of the Rynn, look upon us and give your blessings.” The Rynn in the crowd briefly covered their eyes.

  “I call upon the ancestors of both,” he continued, “because what we do today does not affect just humanity or just the Rynn. What we do today does not just affect America or Europe or Asia. What we do today does not just affect black or white or Asian. It does not just affect the Hot Springs Clan or the Smoking Mountain Clan. It does not just affect Christian or Jew or Muslim or Buddhist or Shinto or even atheist or agnostic. What we do today is unique in both our histories—and, in all honestly, we can use the help.”

  There was a smattering of chuckles and Rynn chitters.

  “Ancestors and spirits,” Jeremy concluded, “we are Rynn and humans, and today, history … changes.”

  The Shinto priest bowed. The other clergy did as they were wont—some genuflected, some bowed, some raised their hands. Nearly all of them had tears in their eyes.

  The princess approached the Temple of Light. She felt more than saw her three companions. Even so, she looked to her left, her right, and over her shoulder. There was the faceless one, her first companion; the nearly insubstantial mist, her second; and behind them all, the stone giant. The princess wiped at her eyes.

  “Is something wrong, princess?” asked the mist.

  “No, not wrong,” the princess replied. “I am blessed beyond my worth, and the truth of that is overwhelming.” She stopped at the steps. “Holy one,” she called. “It is I, Kasumi.” She knelt on the first step. “I humbly ask permission to speak with you.”