NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (24 page)

The Doctor moved uncomfortably in his chair. Daio saw this and was quick to jump in. “That is impossible. Even bringing up such an idea will cause a backlash.”

“That is not what we need right now,” said Dug. “Let's keep the outrage to a minimum if we can.”

“You are in charge of the processions this year, right?” asked the Doctor looking at Daio.

Daio sighed. “Yes. I am meeting with Musan to see if we can make things a little more orderly this year.”

“Who is Musan?” I asked.

“The chief of police,” said Daio. “Last year there was chaos on the White Planes. In addition, these processions are very important to the Naanites. I want to score as many political points as possible so that I'll have more pull when I have something to say about more important issues.”

The Doctor’s telephone rang. He listened carefully for a moment.

“Check again, maybe it's a malfunction,” he said into the phone. He listened again. “Okay,” he said and hung up.

“Is everything okay?” asked Daio.

“The monitoring system we left next to the pool is going crazy. Either there was an eruption or something is wrong with the system.”

“I was there almost two years and experienced only one eruption,” I said.

“It’s probably a malfunction,” said Daio.

“Anyway, they are sending someone out to check on it. I guess we'll know tomorrow.”

“Actually, we don't really know what is erupting from the water,” I said thinking about the cloud. “We checked the water but not the gas itself.”

“From your description I would expect the gases to leave their mark on the water. They come from these holes you mentioned. Correct?” asked Dug.

“I guess so. But none of us here are experts. What if they pass through the water without leaving any trace of something toxic?”

Dug shook his head. "That doesn't make sense to me."

"Maybe you are right," I said, "but it could also be something complicated that we cannot understand with simple reasoning."

We were silent for a few seconds.

“I’m not even sure the people from the university are capable of handling this kind of thing," I said. "I am no scientist but I would have expected them to spend more time in the field. How is it possible that I ran into this phenomenon accidently when they had never encountered it before? What kind of university is this anyhow?”

Daio and Dug were both looking at the Doctor. So was I. I don’t know if I was angry about this simple fact, or just angry that this whole discussion was shallow and irrational. Maybe we are not supposed to know what is causing this plague, I thought, maybe it's not up to us to judge what makes sense and what doesn't. Perhaps it’s simply too complex.

We focused on eating again. The two slices of carrot and the tomatoes remained on the large, white plate in front of the Doctor. He hadn’t touched them. The Doctor looked as if he’d lost his appetite. I thought maybe he’d eaten before he came over, or maybe the things I’d said hurt him. I was making up for his reluctance. It was as if I needed to make up for all of the time I’d gone hungry in the last two years.

The Doctor showed up again the next afternoon and this time he brought along one of the researchers who’d been with the team at the pool. Moah had already invited them into the living room when I came down from my room. I recognized him immediately. In addition to being short like other Naanites he was a bit squat. I thought about the things I’d said the day before and wondered if he was here to face my hard questions.

“Daio is in his study and Dug is out on some errand,” I said after the Doctor activated his device.

“Leave him be. He is probably busy organizing the processions,” said the Doctor.

I walked towards them. “This is Kashir Hasis, one of our leading chemists,” said the doctor. 

Kashir nodded and handed me a small sheet of paper with a table and some unintelligible signs printed on it.

“What is this?” I asked.

“We went to the valley early this morning and the cloud was still there,” said Kashir.

“So there was no malfunction,” I said and stared at the chart. “I can't understand what I see here,” I said.

“These are the gases we found in the cloud and these are their concentrations,” said Kashir pointing to the columns and rows on the table.  “A few of these gases are toxic at high concentrations,” he said pointing to some groups of letters.

I guessed the letters were in Mampasian, since I could already recognize Naanite letters and these were a mystery to me.

“The Sinners’ plague is not caused by exposure to toxic gases,” continued Kashir. “The plague causes lung edema and infection while these gases, at high enough concentrations will simply choke you.”

“You found signs of these gases in the water?” I asked.

“Some of them,” he said gazing at the table.

I nodded. “And what about those that aren't?”

He looked at me surprised.

“Why are there some gases that don't show up in the water?” I explained my question as if I was an expert in these things.

He shrugged his shoulders, but this movement was almost swallowed by his squat body.

“Are you asking for a particular reason?” asked the Doctor.

“No, I am just curious.”

“Not everything reacts with water,” said Kashir. “Some of the gases may simply sink to the bottom.”

"But then they won't show up in the cloud that covers the valley," I said.

Kashir looked at me. “The gasses that attacked you were dangerous,” he said and I felt he was losing his patience. “Maybe they are what made you sick, and maybe it was all was a coincidence. In any event I can’t see how we can conclude they are causing the plague. I simply don't see the connection.”

“I think Kashir is right,” said the Doctor. “Most probably there is no relation between the two events.”

Kashir folded the paper. “I need to go back to the university. People are expecting me,” he said without looking at me and stepped towards the hall.

“Can I have a copy of that,” I said pointing to the paper in his hand.

He turned around, walked over to me and handed me the paper.

“Thank you,” I said. He bowed and left.

“I think he is angry at me,” I said when I heard the door shut.

“I don't think so,” said the Doctor,” I actually think he has a great appreciation for you. He is young, but even so I think it is hard for him to think the answer was always there under his nose.

“It's not under our nose, but it's here. On this planet,” I said. “We are simply not looking hard enough.”

“Maybe.”

“I keep puzzling over the fact no one knew about these eruptions. This cloud covers the whole valley every time it occurs. How could no one have seen it before? How could your researchers not know about it?”

“I don't know. In any case, I think it's best you relax now. You had a few hard years. You deserve it.”

Daio came down the stairs into the living room. “Doctor,” he said.

The Doctor nodded.

“How does it look?”

The Doctor looked at him and twisted his mouth. “There was an eruption, but our analysis shows nothing new. I don't know why we were expecting something immediate. The plague has been here for very long time and no superficial finding or simple analysis will get us anywhere.”

“I guess there are no short cuts,” said Daio. “Finding a cure will require a long, methodical effort, which unfortunately the people here are not ready for.”

They heard the front door open.

“Hey, something new?” asked Dug as he rushed into the house.

“Not really,” said Daio. “How did it go with the Council?”

“I told them about the new arrangements you are proposing and about the savings it will lead to. I think they like the idea.”

“Good, at least that’s something,” said Daio.

I pulled at my beard. “We need a way to shorten the process,” I said, the thoughts spinning in my head.

Daio turned from Dug to me. “Shorten the process?”

“I don't know if the answer is these gases or something else, but if methodical research will take such a long time, we must do something else.  Something that will yield fast results.”

“What are you talking about?” asked the Doctor, worried.

“We have to skip the research,” I said.

“Skip the research?” mumbled Daio.

“
We need some shortcut to obtain the information,” I said.

“And how exactly you are proposing we do this?” asked Dug.

“Using an information processor,” I said, still not sure about my thoughts.

“Information processor,” said Daio slow as if trying to digest my meaning.  He shrugged his shoulders. “The network is at your disposal. You know, we already have neck sensors and the surfing capabilities here have improved dramatically.”

“Yes, I know but I have something else in mind,” I said and shook my head.  I felt I was leading myself to something I hadn’t thought through.  I don't know why, but I felt it was stronger than me.

They looked at each other. Daio's face looked as if he’d just received bad news.

“Can you explain what you mean?” asked the Doctor impatiently.

"I don't know," I mumbled. "It's not so simple."

"Sosi!" Scolded Daio.

       I walked towards one of the armchairs and sat down. They followed and sat around me.

“Why do I have a bad feeling that I know what you are about to say?” said Dug.

“Dug,” said Daio quietly and shook his head while looking at him.

“He means information scrambling,” said Dug. “I know at least that.”

I nodded. My plan included scrambling, but scrambling was a marginal issue compared to what else I had in mind.

“I am not talking about regular processors,” I said. “We won't find any answers there.”

“So what are you talking about?” asked Daio.

I sighed. It had been more than two years, local time, since I’d discovered Shor and many things happened since then. I wanted to be sure I remembered all of the details.

“You probably remember the war between Seragon and the Amanim,” I said trying to remember the details.

Wrinkles appeared on Daio's forehead. “The war between whom?”

“Seragon and Aman,” I said. “It was a very bloody conflict until suddenly Seragon won.”

“Is this a history lesson?” asked Dug.

“Yes,” I said teasing him, but actually it was exactly that. “Seragon organized their forces using a super-processor that calculated the balance between them and the Amanim at every given moment. They constantly fed this processor with new information; everything from the raw materials available to Aman, to the mood in the streets. This super-processor was able to anticipate the economic, political, and military state of Aman on a minute to minute basis.”  I was surprised that I remembered all this.

“Where are you going with this?” asked Dug impatiently.

“Seragon scrutinized Aman as if it were a small bug under a microscope. When they found a breach they attacked and won.”

“I don't remember this story,” said Daio, “but what is your point? Is there a message here? Some instructive lesson?”

“From what I remember the Amanim simply gave up,” said Dug and looked at Daio hoping this was what he meant.

''It was all over quickly. To most it really looked as if they simply gave up,” I said. “But a few people knew the real reason and kept it secret.”

Dug shook his head and frowned, as if something didn’t sound right to him. “How do you know all that, and what does this have to do with the plague?”

“When we were still on Seragon, I found this super-processor accidently,” I said and shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “It wasn't simple to get in. Really, I think I just got lucky. You wouldn't believe the things I saw there.”

“So, you want to use this processor to find a cure for the plague?” asked the Doctor.

“Maybe," I said and shifted my gaze between them. "If we give it all of the needed information it may be able to determine the most probable cause of the plague and what needs to be done to protect against it.”

Daio lifted his eyebrows, for the third time in this conversation. “If this processor really exists and it can do all the things you say, why not ask Seragon for help? We probably can’t do it ourselves, but the Doctor could approach them. And besides, what makes you think it can find the answer.  The example you gave is very different. We are looking for something the people in Seragon have never heard about. It might even be a genetic disorder.”

“This processor doesn't exist formally so we can’t just suddenly approach Seragon about it,” I said. “And the example I gave was just an example. I know that this processor has already performed some amazing genetic analyses.”

“How long have you known about it?” asked Daio, “You can’t have learned about since we’ve been here on Naan.”

I shook my head. I didn't want to tell them too much, especially not when I’d made my discovery.

“Is this is what got us arrested on Seragon?” Dug asked.

I gazed at him in surprise. 

“They said we committed a serious felony,” he said defensively. “I don't remember exactly how they put it, but it sounded as we’d done something very bad.” 

“That’s not important now,” I said and felt stupid for even bringing up the idea.

“It's important if they almost killed us for it,” said Dug. “It's important if it’s the reason we are here now,” he continued and looked at Daio and then at the Doctor.

“Sosi’s right. It's not important now,” said Daio. “We are much better off now than we were in Seragon. Still, we can’t risk exposing ourselves.”

“Yes, that’s why we need to leave Naan,” I said.

“What do you mean?” asked the Doctor.

“We need to access the processor from Mampas.”

“You want to go to Mampas?” asked the Doctor.

I shrugged my shoulders. It was the only approach that made sense.

Daio moved uncomfortably in his seat. “Do you still remember how to surf?” he teased.

“There are things you don't forget, even after two years in the mountains,” I said.

“So is that why you spend all your time outside?” asked Daio. “Is this place too small for you.”

“I spend time outside because I feel good there,” I said.

“You could just go out of the city, you know. You can wander in the forests all you like. There is no problem with that.”

“That is not the reason,” I said angrily.

Daio stood up and raised his hands as if he was asking to stop everything. He walked into the depths of the living room. "I don't know," he said. "I realize finding the cure will not be simple." He turned to us, "But a secret super processor, Mampas, Seragon… Just the thought that we need to risk being noticed by Seragon frightens me."

"On the other hand, finding a cure to the plague isn't something little," said the Doctor. "And you know I am not talking only about saving people's lives.”

I saw Daio shrugging from across the living room “How do you intend to get to Mampas?” he asked. “You can't just fly there. They won’t welcome us there after what happened here during the rebellion. If they catch you they will know where you came from.”

“You can’t simply travel under a false name either,” said the Doctor. “A tall person arriving from Naan would draw immediate attention at the airport.”

“I can get there in a cargo shuttle,” I said. “The same way we got here.”

“I can’t believe you are considering this,” said Dug standing up. “It’s completely crazy.”

Daio walked over. “It's crazy," he said looking at me. “Did you really see a genetic analysis in there?”

I nodded. “I can’t be more specific. I wasn't there that long, but I did see information about genetic analysis. Maybe it was related to development of some sort of weapon, but it doesn't really matter if you are developing a genetic weapon or a cure.”

“You’ve already decided it's genetic," said Dug.

"I am not saying it's genetic," said Daio shaking his head. "I am just trying to understand how powerful this…this processor is."

"Still, the whole thing is too speculative and far too risky,” said Dug. “They will kill him if he's caught.”

“Yes, keep in mind that you are still a wanted man,” said the Doctor. “At least officially you are not allowed to leave Naan.”

“I am not wanted there if I they think I’m dead,” I said, but I wondered if this idea was as crazy as it looked to me now.

“They’ll come after us if you get caught,” said Dug.

“You don't need to worry,” I said with a little contempt. “I’ll set up a new identity when I get there. I’ll be a businessman from a far off planet. No one will ever know that I came from here. Besides, if I do get caught scrambling they won’t think to look here. It virtually doesn’t exist on Naan. No one will suspect you.”

“I see you’ve thought it through,” said the Doctor.

“Not really. You are asking questions and I am answering them. I am thinking it through as we speak. I’m still not sure it’s possible.”

“What do you need in order to be sure?” asked the Doctor.

“Time, I suppose.”

“If you find the cure…” he said and fell silent. It was clear what he thought. He looked at me. “On the other hand, with a new identity you would be completely free,” he added as if worried about something.

“You think I’m planning an escape?”

“No of course not.” He looked over at Daio and Dug. “Your family is here and if you only waited a while I suppose our relations with Mampas might improve. Then if you wanted to leave you would be able to without all this.”

“Why are you doing this?” asked Daio.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Because maybe it's the only way and maybe there is no one else that can do it but me.”

“If you succeed. If we succeed in curing this plague, it would revolutionize this place," said Daio. "You know that right? Naan would be a completely different place.”

I wasn’t sure if he was only trying to explain to me how significant a success would be or he too was trying to convince me not to escape. “I’m not planning an escape,” I said holding my anger.

“I know. I’m not worried," said Daio. "Besides, likes the Doctor said, you don't need to
escape
, you can just leave if you think you must. We can explain to Mampas how you came back from the dead and ask them to let you leave. It’s been two years already and there is a good chance they'll agree.”

“Where would I go? To Seragon? Not so long ago all I had a few horses and sheep, now I have my family again. There’s nothing for me outside Naan.”

Daio approached me, his lips trembling with excitement. “Still, I’d prefer you didn’t go. I’d rather have you here.”

“I have only been here eight days and all you have talked about, and everything you have done is related to this damn plague."

“It's just the time in the year.”

“Sosi is right. Shortening the process could be the key,” said the Doctor and looked at Daio. I don't know why I insisted on going. I could have kept my thoughts to myself. I could have accepted my brother's position and dropped the whole thing. I guess I really thought there was no other way to get real answers in a reasonable amount of time. As long as the locals believed the plague was some sort of forced reality they couldn’t change, and the researchers there never left their doorsteps to look for answers, people would continue to die.

Still this was not my job. After two years in complete isolation and after having saved them once already, I could have sat in my brother's garden for many years without lifting a finger. I’d earned a rest. But it wasn't their job either. My older brother was behaving as if the dying children were his own.

I thought about the situation all night, and into the early morning. Finally I went out onto the front lawn and watched Dion rising. I wondered if beyond the reasonable reasons, I wanted to leave Naan because I was feeling bored.  Maybe I’d saw all there is to see here and now I was pushing myself to take on new adventures.

The next day the Doctor sent one of his teachers to teach me Naanite. I studied eagerly and came to love the language. It was very different than Seragonian, and in my eyes was quite special. I didn't agree with Daio who thought it was a very low language. It was simple, but simple in the sense of minimal not of limitation. The Doctor told me that the Naanites had immigrated from planets close to Paraday and that they had kept their language carefully preserved. As isolated as they kept themselves this wasn't difficult.

My plan to use Shor, Seragon's super processor disappeared from our daily conversations. I was busy in learning the language, and they were all waiting on me to set the plan in motion. Daio wasn't into it in the beginning. Dug didn't believe in it, and the Doctor didn't try to push me towards what looked like an abyss.

I cut my hair, shaved my beard, and tanned my bright cheeks in the light of Dion for few days until they were as golden brown as my nose. My skin softened but not enough, and Daio arranged for someone to come to the house several times to trim my nails and to remove my calluses.  Two months later, except for my muscular body and countless scars, the signs of my hard life in the mountains of Naan had disappeared.

The plague broke again and Daio became agitated and impatient. Coffins being offered for sale in the streets, as if they were filled with candies, made him sick. The endless processions of apathetic people trudging toward the White Planes made him think a cure would never be found; not to for their bodies and not for their souls.

I went out to the White Planes on a light hovercraft with one of my brother's helpers, and joined the last part of the processions out of respect for Daio. Maybe I didn't want to take part in them because I couldn’t connect to the whole story. Actually I detested it. From the air I could see the plains had been carved into steps, one above the next. The processions moved slowly, a long line stretching to the new burial plot.

A dense network of small white rectangles covered the plains, spreading from the edge of town, until they covered half of the huge open space. I wondered how many years they’d been burying people there, and then tried to calculate how many years remained until the plains were completely covered. The Doctor said that this was when the legends said the sins of the forefathers would be redeemed.

I joined Daio at the burial of a brother and sister. They were just kids, aged five and eight. Their parents and six other siblings followed behind their coffins. Daio and the Doctor followed a few steps behind them and when the procession passed by I fell in beside my brother. Daio nodded to me. I assumed he wanted to thank me for coming. I’d already told him what I thought about all this and he knew I was coming only for him.