The Power of Gnaris (11 page)

“I think it’s
some kind of sign of peace,” said Barrow.

The aliens
lowered their rifles, and waited until Forster stood just a few
metres in front of them.

“We come in
peace,” Forster said in old English, the same Earth language that
they had heard on the Ziemian satellite message. “My friends and I
wish to gain some information about a tragedy that has befallen
their people. We do not wish you harm, but we will reward you if
you can help us.”

One of the
aliens, who had been chewing something, turned to one side and spat
the contents of his mouth onto the ground. “Who are you?” he
asked.

“My name is
Jim Forster. I am from another place.”

“What kind of
creatures are they?” He gestured towards the Karavec. “They look
like overgrown amphibians.”

“They are
called Karavec. They will not hurt you. If we meant you harm, then
you would already be dead.”

The alien
scanned the platoon of soldiers, who had now lowered their weapons,
and understood that Forster spoke the truth.

“And
that

machine you arrived on, where is it
from? Did they send you from the city?”

“No, we are
not from the city. Let’s talk, and I will explain everything. What
is your name?”

“Jesse,” said
the leader of the aliens. “That there’s my brother, Frank.” Frank
saluted by touching the rim of his hat. “And yonder is my good
friend Cole.” Cole nodded in acknowledgement. “The others are John,
Jim, Bob and Clell.”

By now the sun
had almost set, and shafts of light, reflected from the full face
of one of Ziemia’s moons, bathed the landscape. The slender
crescent of the second moon was visible on the eastern horizon.

“We will make
a fire and talk,” said Jesse.

The aliens
tied up their animals, and collected firewood. Soon they had a fire
crackling in the shelter of one of the rocks. Barrow and the other
Karavec had returned to the safety of the ship, trusting that
Forster would succeed in negotiating with the strangers.

“You said you
are from another place; what does that mean?”

Forster looked
up. “I am from up there,” he said.

“From the
large moon?”

“No, I am from
a distant planet called Earth.” Jesse’s eyes lit up when he heard
the word ‘Earth’. “My companions are from a different planet, much
closer to yours, which they call Hikon.”

“You are not
from Ziemia?”

“That’s
right.”

“I have heard
of these things before. Are you from the same place as KEO 3?”

“What is KEO
3?”

“I don’t know
exactly. You’ll have to ask the folks in the city. They know all
about KEO 3. They only share some secrets with us.”

“How can we
get to the city?”

“We can take
you to the edge of the city. It’s not far.” He pointed towards the
east. “But it’s very dangerous out there. There are other groups
like ours that will not be so friendly towards you; but mostly you
must beware of the Prehistorics and the Ancients. They are very
suspicious of strangers, and they will not recognise your white
flag.”

“Who are
they?”

“The
Prehistorics are those of our race

we
call ourselves humans too

who still live
in the old way, the way we lived before KEO 3. The Ancients have
developed in many ways and have weapons such as spears and slings,
but they don’t have guns like we do. They are fierce fighters, and
do not take kindly to interference from the city; nor will they
take kindly to you.”

“I must confer
with the Karavec leader,” said Forster. “He will decide whether or
not we should accept your help.”

“And the
reward?”

“I will ask
him about that too. Please give me time to talk with him and the
others.”

Forster walked
back to the ship. The moon offered enough light for him to find his
way without trouble. While he pondered Jesse’s offer and how he and
his gang came to be there, he looked up at the stars twinkling in
the heavens, and also thought about where he had come from

about Earth.

“I think we
should accept their help,” said Barrow. “Although we have the
manpower to make an assault on the city, I would prefer to arrive
there unannounced, and get to meet with the leaders on my own
terms.”

“But Jesse and
his men will only assist us if they get something in return,” said
Forster. “I get the impression that they are used to getting what
they want.”

“I will offer
them gold,” said Barrow. “Gold is highly prized in most parts of
the Milky Way, but plentiful on Hikon. I’m sure they will be
satisfied with gold.”

“You are
right,” said Forster. “But do you have any gold with you, apart
from the odd trinket worn by some of the Karavec soldiers?”

“I have this,”
said the Great Savant, pulling aside a curtain near the rear of the
craft, and revealing several bars of solid gold.

Forster
gasped.

Barrow smiled
and shut the curtain. “I always carry some gold with me for this
very reason. I think one bar should suffice. But we will carry some
others with us in case we need to negotiate again. Now, we must
decide who will go with these people. Obviously you must go
Forster, since your eyes need no protection and you can communicate
with them, but who else should go with you?”

“The
protective goggles will make it difficult to disguise any of
you

but wait

apart from me, there is one other exception. Lolena is blind, so
she does not need to protect her eyes. If Lolena disguises herself
so that her features and green complexion are hidden, then we
should be able to enter the city undetected. I’ll ask Jesse if he
has any ideas for a suitable disguise.”

Lolena nodded.
“Besides, I do have some knowledge of the English language; though
not much, it will be enough for me to understand Captain
Forster.”

“You are
right, Forster. That settles it. Lolena will accompany you. She can
also communicate with me using her gnaris, and keep me informed.
Now that you know she is one of the Council, you will realise that
she has the power.”

Before Forster
and Lolena departed, Barrow drew her to one side.

“I trust
Forster’s honesty,” he said, “but I do not necessarily trust his
judgement. You must watch him closely. As a member of the Council,
you have authority to do what is best. If

when you make contact with the leaders of Ziemia, you must
negotiate a safe passage for me and the others to join you. We will
come as soon as possible. May the gods be with you, and protect you
on your journey.”

“And with
you,” she replied.

* * * * *

Jesse and his
gang accepted the offer.

“Have you any
ideas for a disguise for my companion?” Forster asked.

Jesse thought
for a moment before answering. “You could dress as Franciscan
Friars,” he said.

“What are
Franciscan Friars?”

“They are
members of a religious order that pray a lot, eat little, and help
folks. They wear brown cloaks, tied at the waist with a rope, and
often cover their heads with a hood called a cowl. There’s a
Franciscan Monastery in the eastern part of the city. The friars
often walk the streets of Washington in pairs. They even leave the
city sometimes to visit some of the more civilised towns. They sell
items they make from etched wood. If you dress as Franciscan
Friars, no one will take any notice, especially if one is leading
the other who is blind. It’s an excellent cover.”

The following
morning they set off for the city. Forster had never ridden before,
and Lolena did not trust the beast that would carry her, so Jesse
said they would have to walk to the nearest town where they could
purchase a wagon.

“How far is it
to the city?” Forster asked.

“It will take
us five days to ride there as long as we don’t meet any
Prehistorics or Ancients on the way,” said Jesse. “The city is
named Washington. I don’t know much about what goes on there, but I
do know that they don’t use animals like these for their transport
any more. They have machines with wheels that they sit inside and
control themselves. The machines are powered by some kind of fuel
that causes an explosion. How they do it is beyond me.”

“What do you
call your animals?”

“We call them
horses.”

Forster
thought they resembled horses back on Earth, but were somewhat
taller, and their gait was ungainly.

Jesse patted
his horse’s flank. The animal nickered, and a jet of steam rose
from it nostrils.

They had
walked for about two hours when they reached a small town. The town
had just one very wide street, and a handful of buildings stood on
either side of the street. Some of them were stores, one selling
food and other provisions, another bore a sign that said
‘Gunsmith’. Forster also spotted a building named ‘St. John’s’, and
wondered what it’s purpose was, another called ‘Huntington Bank’,
and a third called ‘Annie’s Bar’.

“I could do
with a drink or two,” said Clell.

“And a lass,”
said Bob with a grin.

“No,” said
Jesse. “We don’t have time to get drunk

or bed a woman.”

“What about
the bank?” said Cole. “It looks like easy pickings.”

Jesse’s reply
was uncompromising. “No, we have a job to do, and we have already
been well rewarded.”

They found a
wagon and a pair of horses for sale. With a little haggling, Jesse
negotiated a good price.

Forster and
Lolena boarded the wagon with Frank who had volunteered to be their
driver. The other members of the gang rode alongside.

The horses had
not yet reached a trot when Frank spotted two figures emerging from
the front entrance of St. John’s.”

“Whoa.” Frank
tugged hard on the reins and brought the horses to a
standstill.

“There’s your
cloaks and cowls,” he said, nodding towards the two men. “They are
Franciscan Friars. They have been praying.”

“Excellent,”
said Forster. He translated for Lolena.

“So, these
people have some kind of primitive religion?”

“They are
Christians. The religion is named after its founder, a man from
early Earth history by the name of Jesus Christ. See the cross at
the top of the building

that’s their
sign

folks say they killed this man by
nailing him to a cross, and that he came alive again.”

“Do they not
worship the gods?”

“They do not
believe in the Karavec gods,” said Forster. “They have but one God,
and believe that the man Jesus was an incarnation of their
God.”

“How strange
that a man should become a god.”

Meanwhile,
Jesse and the others had intercepted the two friars, tied them up,
and stolen their vestments and sandals. They threw the clothes into
the back of the wagon, and the party departed for Washington.

The road, a
dusty track, meandered through the scrublands and semi-desert.
Jesse sent Clell and Bob on ahead to scout for any trouble, and
they returned to say that it was all clear.

When the sun
was about to set, they found a place to set up camp on the banks of
a small river. Cole went out with his rifle, and soon returned with
two small furry animals slung over his back.

“We will roast
these on a spit,” said Jesse. “They make a real tasty meal.”

“What are
they?” asked Lolena, relying on Forster for a translation.

“We call them
rabbits.”

After they had
eaten, Frank went to his saddlebag and retrieved a small metal
object with many holes. “We call this a mouth organ,” he said. He
placed the metal object between his lips, and began to play a tune
by blowing and moving the mouth organ from side to side. The other
members of the gang began to sing along with Frank. The catchy tune
was easy to follow, and the words of the song kept repeating, so it
wasn’t long before Forster found himself joining in.

Lolena was
bemused by it all. “It’s time for sleep,” she said. She rolled into
a sleeping bag and was soon snoring.

“Tomorrow, we
have to cross those mountains,” said Jesse pointing towards the
east. “They are not very high, but it will be a pain getting the
wagon over the trail.”

Chapter 10 – The
Prehistorics

“
The
combined gnaris of the Council is a powerful weapon in the hands of
the wise.”

 The Book of
Karavec (35, 98)

The Great
Savant did not suffer fools lightly; he liked it even less when
someone made a fool of him.

Elena stood
before Barrow, and trembled. He had taken her to a room in the back
of the ship where he could interrogate her in private.

“Why did you
spy on the Council?” Barrow spoke gently to start with, a tactic to
make Elena feel a little less anxious about the consequences.

“Captain
Forster said

”

“I told you
before that you do not take your orders from Forster. Now, try a
little harder to answer my question. Why did you spy on us?”

“One of our own killed
the embryos and stole the blood. There is also some connection
between this incident and Ziemia. The person who is doing these
wicked things may be one of us here now on Ziemia, or even one of
the Council. We did not know who we could trust, and

”

“We

we! ‘We’ means you and Forster, I suppose?” Barrow’s
voice rose. “I warned you not to get too cosy with Forster.”

“Yes, we sought to
gain an advantage over the traitor by knowing your plan, the plan
of the Council, in advance.”

“It is an outrage that
you could suspect one of the Council, but the greater crime that
you have committed is invading the privacy, the sacredness of the
Council itself. There is only one punishment appropriate for your
crime. You will be a sacrificed to the gods.”