NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (37 page)

We drank the soup and she gazed at Mampas. It was higher in the sky now.

“Where did you learn to fly?” I asked.

She smiled. “It's a common skill, even a necessity, among the desert people. We are all taught from childhood.”

“So have you flown many types of aircraft?”

“I suppose,” she said. “Although our desert hovercrafts are quite unique.”

“From the little I saw they all look like wrecks.”

“That is just camouflage. Many of the desert hovercrafts are as capable as any war hovercraft. Actually you can identify a good desert hovercraft by the sound it makes.”

I lifted my eyebrows.  “Is that a fact?”

“You weren’t in the desert long enough, but any Desertian can identify desert hovercraft by its sound. They have a sharp sound. Almost too sharp.”

“Interesting,” I said.

“Every people have something that unifies them. I think our hovercrafts unite us more than anything else.”

“Hovercrafts with a sharp sound,” I said and nodded. “The people of Naan are unified by their lack of action,” I said giggling.

She laughed. “I assume there is something else unique here as well,” she said.

“There isn't much here other than breathtaking views,” I said.

“Maybe that unifies the planet, but not the people of Naan,” she said.

“Maybe it's the food,” I said. “You know everything here is natural? I never imagined such delicious food existed back on Seragon nor tasted anything as good on Mampas for that matter.”

“You see.”

“If I could, I would start selling it to Mampas, and maybe to the whole galaxy,” I said.

“Sell what?”

“Food. Natural food.”

She laughed. “Who would buy natural food? How would you transport it throughout the galaxy? It wouldn’t last, only spoil in transit.”

“Okay, maybe not food then. But fruits and vegetables, and all sorts of grains.”

“I still don't think it’s practical,” she said and looked at me suspiciously.

“It wouldn't be simple but that is what makes it unique.”

“So maybe this place has just been waiting for you.”

I nodded and wondered what had come over me. I had no idea where these thoughts were coming from.

“Is this something new, or have you thought about it for some time?”

I laughed. “It's the first time I have ever considered it.”

“It’s
brilliant,” she said.

“You know how many brilliant ideas there are that have no connection to reality?”

“Yes, but that is how every great things starts. Many people have brilliant ideas but never do anything with them. It all depends on how serious you are.”

“How serious am I?” I said wondering and took another sip of the soup. “I don't know how serious I am. Not long ago…”

“What?”

“Not long ago I wasn't sure I was going to survive.”

“Yes, that’s true. In any case, let me know if you decide you are serious. I know a few people in Mampas that could tell you how realistic your idea is.”

“Okay,” I said. I still didn’t think it was realistic though. I wondered if only non-realistic things were safe subjects for us to discuss if we didn’t want each other to feel bad.

Daio didn't wait. He couldn't resist the temptation to take action when the plague struck. As soon as the first shipment of inhalers arrived on Naan he started distributing them immediately. The town became a war zone. Daio's people filled the streets to fight the plague falling from the sky going from door to door and making sure everyone was using the inhalers at least three times a day. People recognized them by the white shirts with a symbol on the flap representing the killer molecule’s chemical formula slashed through with a line. Their work was relatively easy. By then everyone was staying home. Businesses were closed, as were the schools.

One evening the Doctor walked into their dining room and gazed at their almost empty plates. No one said anything for long minutes.

Finally he smiled as if nothing had happened. “I don't recommend following my diet. It's not human,” he joked. 

But he was only pretending to be cheerful. The thought that Naan was a victim of fraud, or maybe something worse, tormented him. This fear grew along with the death toll.

The previous night things had reached a point that heretical thoughts blossomed in his mind and took him back two hundred years, GST. From time to time he convinced himself that since the name of Plaser that he’d found in the books was real, and that the three brothers carrying this name were real as well, the prophecy must be completely true. It didn’t seem possible that a prophecy could be fulfilled in so many details over thousands of years, then fail at the climax. This last thought froze the oil in his knees.

It occurred to him that maybe such a failure, if indeed it turned out to be one, said something important about the prophecy itself.  Something about the chosen.

Daio waved to an empty chair.  “Come join us,” he said.

“What is going on here?” asked the Doctor. “It's like you have all swallowed your tongues.”

“What is there to say?” asked Dug.

“It was only the first attempt. I am sure we'll resolve the problem next time,” said the Doctor as he climbed into his chair.

“I am not sure they will give us a second chance,” said Daio.

“The medicine is working. I am sure of that. It's just that it's not working as well as we want it to work.”

Daio looked at him in disbelief. “How many dead are there now?” he asked.

The Doctor shook his head as if he was calculating something.

“I know the number as well as you do,” said Daio.

“A few hundred,” said the Doctor.

“Last year at this time there were only a few dozen.”

“I know that, but it only proves that the medicine is working. Something went wrong but I have no doubt that we'll find out why and fix it.”

“Yes, the medicine is working great,” said Dug. “In its own way it will solve the problem for sure. If not this year, then next year, we will have wiped out everyone here and gotten rid of the plague for good.”

“We shouldn't have rushed it,” said Daio. “I know it's silly to say so now.”  He looked at me, acknowledging what I’d said months before. “We should have tested the medicine on a small group before exposing everyone else to it.”

“I don't think it was technically possible," said Dug. "In any case you didn't think so before the plague erupted. We never suspected that the medicine would only make things worse.”

“No one thought so. We were all optimistic,” said Su-thor. She also looked at me.

“It's not about optimism,” said Daio. “We had to try when they were dying out there.” He let out a heavy sigh.

“Failure is a hard test,” the Doctor said. He looked at Daio and then at me.  “Don't get discouraged. I know we'll find the solution. It must work.”

“I hope you are right,” said Dug. “If people keep dying at this rate I won't be surprised if they come here and kill us all.” 

“They will do no such a thing,” said the Doctor. “They all know how hard you are trying for them. They know that Sosi almost lost his life for their sake.”

Dug looked at me and then at the Doctor. “Yes but it’s easy to shift people’s thinking in other directions,” he said.

“What do you mean?” asked Daio.

“Sosi almost sacrificed his life for them, but with a little effort one can turn that story around.”

“What are you implying?” I asked.

“I think it's quite clear. If even one crazy preacher stood up and said that everything we have done was part of a plot to take over Naan, all of the sacrifices we have made to save the planet could suddenly be seen as sacrifices we made to eliminate our opponents. Admit it, it fits perfectly.”

“No one thinks that and no one would think of harming you,” said the Doctor. “Instead of thinking such crooked thoughts, we need to be focusing on finding a solution. There is still a chance. My team is working hard on this. We are also double-checking the other option. Maybe there is something we missed.”

I rose and left the dining room. I couldn't listen to the conversation anymore. I walked out into the front yard.  Mampas had almost set. The front yard was dark and the lights were on. I walked to the control box behind the bushes and yanked out a few wires until the lights went off.

I sat in one of the chairs and remembered the awful choking feeling I’d had up on the hill above the pool.

Su-thor walked outside. “What's wrong with you?” she asked when she sat down next to me.

“It's the third time,” I said.

“Third time?”

“The third time I have made such a mess.”

“It's not a failure yet, and if it is, it wasn’t yours alone. We were all a part of this.”

“It's certainly not yours! Don't volunteer for this burden.”

“I brought you here so I have some part in it.”

I didn't answer and she shook her head. “What do you mean the third time?”

I let out a sigh. “It's the third time I have caused a crisis if you take into account my birth.”

“Are you insane?”

I didn't answer. Daio’s words
We cannot thank you enough
, echoed in my mind.

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's not your fault and no one is blaming you.”

“You don't know me, I am a walking disaster.”

“I know you better than you think. I am trained to analyze people on first sight and I am very good at it.”

“So is that what you were doing at the agency.”

“Yes, I looked for weak people we could manipulate. I know I didn't make a mistake with you.”

“I don't know what you mean by that.”

“No one believed your story when we caught you. My father wanted to kill you that day, but I believed you.”

“Even experts make mistakes,” I said.

“That’s true but I wasn't wrong about you,” she said. 

I nodded.

“You need to learn something from the rebels. They have been fighting their battles for over a hundred years, and can’t point to even one clear achievement in that time. Still, they don't give up. They still fight.”

“So maybe they are not fighting hard enough? Maybe they could have conquered Mampas if they fought differently?”

“Or maybe fighting differently would have been the end of them,” she was quick to answer.

We paused.

“I am sorry that I am like this. My mind is telling me I should not feel guilty, but it doesn't change how I feel.”

“You didn't go to Mampas on your own whim, they were full partners in the plan. Give it some time. The Doctor has patience. He knows that big things don't come easy. Four steps forward and three backwards. Just give it some more time.”

“You heard what Dug said.”

“Dug said many things.”

“He’s right though. The whole story could be easily twisted to say that I went to Mampas to find a poison.”

“All Dug said was that it can be interpreted that way, but people here are not stupid. There is only one cure for this plague, but there are endless ways to kill people, and they are all here on Naan.”

“That makes sense, but when there are endless processions to the White Planes, and when death is in every house, it’s easy to look for someone to blame for what is happening.”

“I won't listen to these crazy thoughts,” she said suddenly and stood up.  “
S
uicidal thoughts never helped anyone. When you want to be reasonable you know where to find me,” she said and went in to the house.

But I wasn't thinking about suicide, only that maybe Dug's idea was not so innocent.