Chapter 20
New Mecca, Paradise
Shadi and Dorri began their day with a breakfast of flat bread and
foul mudammas
, a fava bean porridge made with garlic and olive oil. Called
ful
for short, the mixture had been prepared before they departed the morning before. In Muslim countries ful was often eaten for breakfast during Ramadan, the filling dish allowing people to fast more comfortably during the daylight hours. Using pieces of bread to scoop up the savory mashed beans, the girls were quickly sated and ready for another day herding sheep.
After rolling up their sleeping mats and securing their few possessions in bundles on their backs, the sisters resumed their uphill trek, heading toward the rocky foothills beyond the edge of the prairie grass. It was another beautiful day on Paradise, with fluffy white clouds drifting over grassy plains that stretched seemingly to the horizon. The advantage of higher elevation gave the girls a clear view of New Mecca in the distance, its white buildings taking on a slightly rosy tint in GJ667C's redder than Sol light.
Looking back at the settlement, for the second time Shadi saw something moving where nothing should. Shading her eyes with her hand she squinted at the moving figure that was headed their way, wishing she had thought to bring a pair of binoculars from the ship. As the figure drew nearer it resolved to horse and rider.
“Dorri, it looks like we are having company.” Shadi pointed with one arm at the figure in the distance.
Dorri looked at her sister quizzically and then followed her outstretched arm.
“It looks like someone on a horse,” she said.
“Your eyes are better than mine, little star. It will still take whoever it is a while to get here, but stay close.”
“Sure. I hope they haven't been sent to make us come back early.”
“We will see.”
* * * * *
An hour and a half later the horse and rider approached the flock at a canter. Atop the big roan mare was a man in flowing white robes with a red checkered gutra on his head. Both girls recognized the man immediately—Ahmed, Dorri's husband to be.
Ahmed reined his mount to a stop five meters from the sisters. Sweat glistened on the horse's neck and flanks. The mare blew and snorted, tossing her head up and down. After almost a month in a stall on board the ship, being asked to canter up hill under Paradise's heavier gravity had winded her.
“
As-salaam alaikumā,
” Ahmed greeted the sisters with the traditional Arab phrase,
Peace be upon you
.
“
Wa alaikum as-salaam,
” replied Shadi, a
nd upon you be peace.
Traditional pleasantries disposed of she continued in that language. “What brings you so far from the settlement, Ahmed? You know you should not be here with us without a male from our household present.”
“Maybe I just couldn't wait until the wedding to see my new bride.” He smiled a toothy smile at Dorri, who had the good sense to modestly cover her lower face with the tail of her headscarf.
“What? You would risk you new wife's reputation as a chaste woman because you can't control your lustful yearnings? Be gone!” Shadi made shooing motions with both hands.
Ahmed was taken aback, unconsciously jerking on the reigns, causing his mount to step sideways away from the sisters and their sheep.
“I mean no harm, my soon to be sister-in-law. Besides, there is no one around to see us,” Ahmed replied after regaining his momentarily lost composure.
“People in the settlement can certainly see that you have ridden up to the flock of sheep, so stay on your horse and depart.”
Ahmed looked nervously over his shoulder at the distant New Mecca. Turning back he had a half snarl on his normally smiling face.
“Have it your way, Shadi, but in a few days you will no longer have a say in things. Dorri will belong to me and she won't be taking any more nature walks with you and the sheep. And I doubt your new husband will let you wander about, not until he's ridden you bowlegged!”
With that he pulled on the reigns and headed his mount back down hill, angling to the east and the river. As he rode away Dorri let go of her headscarf and stared after him.
“I used to think that I was the lucky one, sister. That I was at least getting a decent young man for a husband. But it appears that Ahmed is a self centered pig.”
Shadi shook her head sadly. “He is like all other men, spoiled brats who treat their women like possessions. I hope he falls in the river.”
“I just hope he doesn't harm the poor horse.”
The sisters looked at each other with brave smiles on their faces, but there was sorrow in their eyes.
Mizuki & Bobby's Quarters, Peggy Sue
The run back to the inner planets was routine to the point of boredom. That boredom did not diminish the constant stream of questions from other members of the crew regarding what they were headed for back on planet
C
, now universally referred to as Paradise. To escape the queries, Mizuki and Bobby had retreated to the privacy of their cabin following the evening meal. The couple was relaxing, sitting on their couch in front of a low table, sipping tea.
Billy Ray was the captain, and one did not cross examine a man who could clap you in the brig or have you thrown overboard. For different reasons, Beth was not considered easily approachable by the crew either. She had not served with members of the enlisted crew before and her stiff, formal deportment, instilled by her previous career in the Royal Navy, made her seem an imposing figure. That left Bobby, the sailing master, as the most approachable officer aboard.
“The whole crew is on edge about returning to Paradise,” Bobby said. Having lived with Mizuki for several years he was used to the presence of her pets, the
aoi chō
. They were always about in their apartment at Farside, but since moving aboard the Peggy Sue their personal space had shrunk considerably. Their cabin now resembled a butterfly conservatory at a zoo, with the winged creatures flitting about everywhere.
“I can imagine, the other scientists are anxious as well. I don't really know what we can do when we get there, except try to convince the other ship's captain to transport the settlers back to his vessel.”
“That's only part of the battle, sweetheart. We have to convince the colonists to abandon their settlements as well. The satellite recon pictures show that they have really moved fast on constructing their new villages, and the grass that was planted has spread for kilometers in all directions. It's hard to believe that anything could just rise up and erase all of that.”
“I know, but you have seen the alien recordings as have I. If what Dr. Rogers awoke was the blight that scoured Paradise clean of life, and it is still present in locations other than the ruined city where we took our samples, disaster could strike at any time.”
“Like I said, we have to get those people off of the planet, and we can't do that by ourselves, there isn't enough space for two hundred passengers on board the Peggy Sue.”
“You and Billy Ray and Beth will figure something out once we get there.” Mizuki took his hand. “Have I told you how proud I was of you on the metal moon?”
“Well, yeah. I mean I was the senior officer present, I had to do something.” Bobby blushed. As much as he longed for Mizuki's praise he didn't really handle it well when he got it.
“You figured out how to get there in time to save the mission, and made first contact with the Horta when we got there.”
“But you helped a lot. You figured out tracking the aliens using the DU dust. And when we did get to the big chamber you helped calm the Marines down while I tried to talk with the head rock.”
“That is because we make a great team, Bobby.” Mizuki smiled and stood up. Taking Bobby's other had, she pulled him up from the couch. The air was filled with brightly colored butterflies as the walked together to the bed.
The River, South East of New Mecca
After his cold reception from Dorri and her sister, Ahmed rode east, heading for the river that lay beyond the settlement. When he arrived on the banks of the river he paused and allowed his horse to cool off and drink. He was not a cruel man by nature and had some experience caring for horses. It was that experience that convinced Imam Mustafa to let him take the big mare out for some exercise.
Once his mount recovered from the trip down to the river, they headed south along its bank. They traveled for kilometers until a shallow oxbow presented a convenient crossing place. Fording the river, Ahmed continued south along the far bank until he was beyond the reach of the grass planted by the settlers' drones.
In his traditional flowing white robes and red checked head cover, Ahmed looked like an Arab sheik from an old Hollywood movie, a solitary figure riding across the vast desert wastes. As he rode, he mulled his encounter with Dorri and her sister over in his mind. It had not been his intention to upset the two young women. In fact, he thought they would enjoy a visit as a break from the boredom of watching sheep turn grass into dung. After seventeen years of life, women remained a total mystery to Ahmed.
Walah, I am glad I am not marrying the older sister,
he thought,
what a bitch!
Ahmed held the reins loosely in his left hand and worked the beads of a
misbaha
through the fingers of his right. A misbaha is a string of prayer beads, often used to perform
dhikr
, the personal remembrance of God. His string contained thirty three amber beads, which he would pass through his fingers three times while reciting the Ninety-Nine Names of Allah. Currently he recited no names, but fingered the smooth beads out of habit.
I just hope that Dorri doesn't sour like her sister over time. This is what happens when you allow women to get an education. Cooking and raising children, what else does a woman need to know?
The sun was sinking low in the western sky, twilight would be coming soon. Time to start back to the settlement if he was not going to end up riding in the dark. This planet had no large moon to guide the steps of those traveling at night.
He was barely paying attention to where the mare was taking him, lost in his thoughts. The big roan paused and snorted, tossing her head. Then she moved forward with a start.
“What is it, girl?” Ahmed asked.
The horse whinnied and stumbled. The string of beads flew from his hand as he grabbed the reins. The horse whinnied loudly and fell sideways. That was when he noticed black strands emerging from the sandy soil, wrapping themselves around his mount's legs.
Ahmed tried to throw himself off the horse but the black sinews wrapped around his legs, pinning him in place. Searing pain lanced up his thighs and torso as the black sinews whipped around him. He tried to cry out but was paralyzed by the strands that encased both rider and mount in a shared cocoon of agony. His last thought was,
Allah be merciful.
Down sank their remains as flesh and bone dissolved. Ahmed's clothes and the mare's tack and saddle were also absorbed by the voracious blackness. The corruption that had taken them roiled and quivered and slowly sank back into the sandy river bank. In the failing light it was almost as though they had never existed.
All that remained of the man and his horse was a curved dagger, badly pitted as if from strong acid, its handle and leather sheath eaten off, and the badly corroded metal bit from the horse's mouth. Higher up the bank were several scattered pebbles, the beads from Ahmed's misbaha.
New Jerusalem, Paradise
Mason and Manuel trudged back to their shuttle after completing the business transaction they had come for—exchanging goats for a slip of paper. That paper contained a string of numbers that would unlock their payoff back on Farside. As with previous visits to New Jerusalem, there were no women or children visible, only men in somber black outfits. The boxes of spare parts and supplies had been unloaded and now a number of young men were herding the goats toward town. The smugglers suggested that the four legged contraband be kept under cover whenever one of the observation satellites was over head—at least until the Fortune broke orbit for Earth.
“Looks like our work here is done, Manuel,” quipped Mason, touching the pocket in which the slip of paper resided.
“You got that right, amigo. If I never set foot on this rock again it will be too soon.”
“At least there is grass on the ground this time,” the pilot observed. “The first couple of runs it was just sand. Someday you might regret not buying a homestead somewhere nearby.”
“With this gravity? No thanks. Why do you think that old geezer wanted those goats so bad?”
“I don't know. Maybe they want them for a goat grab on some holy day,” Mason replied. “Or maybe he's just queer for goats.”