NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (25 page)

The procession stopped in front of some steps carved into the rock that led up to the White Planes. The family and a few relatives followed the coffins up the steps and the rest remained behind or joined other processions. We stood to the side of the trail and let other people pass us by. A few of them nodded to the Doctor and others to Daio. Maybe they didn't recognize me.

“They’ve already buried one child here,” said the Doctor.

I looked at the coffins moving slowly up the steps.

“They have six more,” I said. It was a bitter jest. He didn’t respond. Though I’d meant they had six additional opportunities, I think the Doctor interpreted my words as a consolation.

“It's so irrational, what is going here,” mumbled Daio. “So inhuman. A brother and sister. So little.”

“You are right,” said the Doctor, “but you are seeing it from the perspective of someone from Seragon.”

“I am seeing it from the perspective of a human being. Are you suggesting they are happy with this?”

“Look at them. Do they look happy?" asked the Doctor. "No, no one is happy with such things. But this is their reality.”

Daio shook his head.

“You think that what happened to Sosi during the last two years was horrible?” continued the Doctor.

Daio quickly looked at me as if the answer was written on my face. “What does that have to do with it?”

“I’m sure he made peace with his new reality, out there in the mountains, when he realized he had no other choice. As long as he didn't think there was another way, he lived with it. The universe is filled with horrors. Sometimes you find little children living in harsh physical and mental conditions and still they are full of life.”

“I don't accept your analysis. Sosi eventually decided to come here,” said Daio.

A procession went by. Another small coffin was in front with parents, children, and a few other people trailing behind. 

“It’s like pilgrimage,” I said gazing at the last people as they passed by. “A pilgrimage to the temple of Naan and their children are the sacrifices on the altar,” I went on finishing the thought that was in my mind.

The Doctor wanted to say something, but the approach of a new procession silenced him.

“I will go to Mampas,” I suddenly said.

Daio looked at me for a second, then looked forward again and didn't say anything.

“Are you ready?” asked the Doctor. “You said you needed time.”

“I need to learn Mampasian. Do you have a good teacher?”

“That won't be a problem.”

“What about the other things?” asked Daio. “There are countless details we need to take care of. You can’t leave without proper preparation.”

“I will prepare everything it is possible to prepare.”

“What about the rest?” he asked.

“There are things you cannot prepare for. I will be there; I will have to learn as I go and find solutions as problems arise.”

“Like in the mountains,” said the Doctor.

“I suppose there is some similarity,” I said.

“Are you glad you came back?” asked Daio. “Wouldn't it have been better if you’d stayed in the mountains with your horses? Your chances of survival there were probably higher than they will be in Mampas.”

“You are being too dramatic,” I said. You don't know how dangerous my life was, and you don't know how dangerous it's going to be in Mampas. I will be one of millions of people there. If I’m careful no one will find me.”

“What do you need?” asked the Doctor.

“Just the teacher and a compact handheld terminal.”

“How compact?”

“Pocket size.”

“Those are illegal in Mampas. You’d need a special license for that.”

“They are illegal in many places,” I said.

“And you have a plan?” asked Daio.

“Sort of,” I said.

“Sort of is not good enough,” he replied.

“As I said, I will have to fill in the missing parts after I get there.”

“Why do you need such a small terminal?” asked the Doctor.

“You are going to ship me there in a small box. I’ll use this terminal to disconnect the motion sensor in the warehouse I will arrive at.”

The Doctor stared at me.

“I haven’t scrambled anything yet,” I said. “All of this information is available over the network.”

“Why do they need motion sensors in the warehouses?” asked Daio.

I waited for few seconds, thinking he would figure out the answers as soon as he asked the question.

“Among other things, I assume they use them to prevent people like me from smuggling themselves into Mampas,” I said when he didn't respond.

We remained silent for a while, looking at people passing by.

“I can arrange everything you ask,” said the Doctor.

We kept standing there, each lost in his own thoughts, watching the people pass by, nodding to them from time to time.

I went back to wondering why I was doing all this. Maybe the scenes from the day had made me think I simply could not live in a place where people die for no good reason. I could have left, but Daio could have left me behind too when our Mother had died. He could have thrown me in one of the orphan houses, and gone looking for a better life, but he hadn’t.

“This one is the last for today,” said the Doctor gazing at the approaching procession. “We can join it, and continue to their burial site, or go home after they pass us.”

Daio nodded. “I will stay, but you can go back,” he said looking at me.

I went back to the hovercraft and the helper took me home. I thought about the risks involved in a trip to Mampas. I had no doubt a careful and well-prepared plan would be safer than the uncertainty of life in the hills and valleys of Naan.

Three months later I left the house and walked towards a car that was waiting out front. Cargo shuttles had landed this morning and were starting to unload. In an hour, they would begin loading local cargo onto conveyers to be shipped to Mampas. The car would take me to one of the warehouses at the airport. There a box, specially designed for me, was waiting. It would take me to Mampas. Excited, I walked towards the car. At the door I turned to see Daio's gloomy face, Dug's apathetic look and the questioning face of the Doctor.  I smiled to myself for being able to read them so clearly.  We’d said our goodbyes earlier and from now on there would be no connection between us. The infiltration of the shuttle was foremost in my mind, and as far as they were concerned I’d left my sanity somewhere in Naan's mountains.

After I arrived at the warehouse I walked into the large box. It contained a special fabric, crafted by local artists, and was addressed to a known art merchant in Mampas. The inside of the box was designed so that I was able to get out once the flight was underway. If I pushed the fabric to one side I could even lay down inside the box comfortably.

The loading of the shuttle would be the first test. Usually the loaders barely looked at the tags attached to every cargo container. They simply scanned the tags with their readers and loaded all the information they needed into their pads. This information was fed directly into the network in order to verify the address and the content of the cargo. Still, in places prone to smuggling, the loaders were more alert. Overloaded containers, oversized cargo, or anything that had a problem with the address for its destination, received special care.

This was the part of the plan that everyone was worried about, since my box was heavier than expected. Daio sent three of his people dressed as airport porters to help the shuttles crew with loading. They had orders to distract them when my box reached the upper deck for scanning.

For some reason the shuttle crew heard about the plague that had swept across Naan a few months ago, and therefore they refused to let Daio’s people aboard. At the last moment, when my box was a third of the way up the conveyor, one of Daio's people called the loading team leader and said that one of their people was feeling sick. He advised them to stay within the shuttle. The rate of loading suddenly increased and my box, along with all the other boxes on the conveyer, was rushed inside the shuttle and the hatch was sealed.

The shuttle landed in Mampas City, the capital city of the planet. We arrived late at night. As we had expected the box was left overnight in a big warehouse. After the noise around me died down, I opened the side of the box, to let air inside. I was nearly overcome by weakness. I felt heavy as if I still wore the weight suit I’d worn on Naan to get use to Mampas gravity.

The Doctor, filled with good intentions, had planned to build a centrifugal acceleration chamber, similar to those on passenger shuttles, to help me adjust to the gravity of Mampas. The junkyard next to the airport had many of the necessary parts, but he was still missing a few critical components when we had run out of time.

The weight suit we decided on as a backup plan was tailored in haste. I had only a few days before leaving Naan to walk around in it hoping to ease my adjustment.

When I felt stronger I started the palm terminal, hooked the neck sensor, and seconds later started surfing the airport network. I’d already checked out the defenses on the local network while on Naan. I uploaded a map and found my location. There was a corridor on the other side of the warehouse. Its door led into the passenger hall. I disconnected the motion sensors, went out from the box, and closed it carefully behind me. My hands felt as if heavy weights were attached to them. My legs felt the same as I walked out of the warehouse. The heavy feeling grew with every step I took.

I found the corridor and walked to the door at its end. I was already breathing a bit heavier than I expected but I suspected some of this was due to the excitement of my adventure. I locked my knees and leaned against the wall to allow my breathing and pulse to slow. I pressed my ear to the door and listened. I heard faint voices and from time to time short monotonic announcements. I pulled out my terminal, surfed and scrambled my way into the security system until I heard a faint click from the door's lock.  I took a few deep breaths, as if I was about to dive into the pool below the hill, then I opened the door and walked through it.

A huge space appeared in front of me. At its far end people were walking along a gray-carpeted path. I rushed towards them as fast as I could, hoping my isolated image crossing the distance was not drawing any unwanted attention. I reached the gray carpet trying to catch my breath. I spotted a long bench along one wall, walked over to it, and sat down. I pulled out the palm terminal and reactivated the motion sensors in the warehouse.

Like any large airport, this one was busy at all hours of the day and night, and a lively flood of humanity passed back and forth in front of me. Most of them had a similar build and dress, though from time to time I noticed people that looked different. I looked down at the business suit that the Doctor’s people had custom tailored to give me the look of a local Mampasian. The suit didn't look like those of people passing by. Naan, it seemed, was behind the modern world in that respect as well.

I could feel the difference in gravity, but the pain in my legs seemed more from being stuck in one position while on the shuttle. When it faded, I stood up and walked towards the sign for the exit. I was forced to rest yet again along the way. When I finally left the airport I walked to a taxi stand near the exit door. A few people were already in line but the line went fast. Soon enough I found myself in the back seat of a taxi. Calmness spread from my legs up through my body.