The Alien Library (15 page)

“When we aren’t defending ourselves from the Brothers Grimm,” she tried to joke.

He’d read the books on psychology, knew she attempted to see the situation as amusing. He nodded. “Yes. But we have the best helping us.”

“Us?” She leaned on him. “Oh, that is good to hear.”

“We will not let you go, Cameron. As things stand right now, to let you go would serve Tendar ill, not just the library. We three are connected. To force you away? It cannot happen. It will not happen,” he said adamantly.

“And if it does?” she whispered.

“I don’t know. I won’t lie to you. I just don’t know. Try not to worry, just think of seeing Tendar again.” He kissed her.

She tried not to worry.

The journey continued without drama. Cameron found herself watching Daniel as much as the passing countryside. His declaration of love had surprised her. She knew there was the chemical connection between her, Daniel and Tendar, even though she hadn’t seen Tendar much in the last few months. Once the ICD problem ended, she understood some of what happened.

Daniel's lack of patience and understanding nearly stopped dead their reconciliation after the device's removal. She still felt that issue needed resolving, even if he appeared peaceful with her doubt right now. Would that last? She wasn’t even certain her doubt existed anymore. The panic attack had done something to her by shifting her perspective from the medical to the mental. It wasn’t a heart attack. It wasn’t her heart at all! Just her brain, and that left her feeling less frightened.

It certainly wasn’t something she could understand; she just accepted it.

She could appreciate how her confusion affected everything at the moment. But why was Daniel suddenly so peaceful with her?  She tried to imagine living for thousands of years as she watched him. To all appearances, he was just a man, but her eyes couldn’t reveal the whole story.

As she continued to live here, would she develop the sorts of talents Daniel had? He was very intuitive and empathetic, when he chose to use it. Pigheaded and arrogant on the other side of that coin, none of which she saw in herself.

He turned and edged along the top of the shell to sit next to her. “What are you thinking about? You appear so serious.”

“Daniel, are you the only human still alive from your ‘harvest’?” She used her hands to indicate quotation marks around the word.

“No. There are nearly a dozen Thinkers, last I heard. Most live on other areas of Ix. Some died in the wars between humans and Kharmon. Some faded to the child brain, a few have killed themselves,” he answered.

“And Tendar? His brothers? How old are they?”

“That generation is, approximately, half the age of the generation before them. Jefarin and his brothers twice that. At the end of the wars, when the harvest began to reap less Thinkers, the Kharmon came into their own.”

“I imagine those were scary times. How alone you must have felt.” She touched his hand.

“Alone?” He seemed to consider the word. Then shook his head. “I have always been too busy to dwell on the idea. To me, the Kharmon are company no less than other Thinkers, which is not something other Thinkers embrace. Hence, they have moved away, to settlements that are primarily human.”

She tilted her head. “Have you been to these settlements?”

“It’s been decades, but yes. They are more basic.”

“Do they have books?”

“No, not many. Pandra-i encouraged me to take duplicates to them, but not all speak the language the books are printed in. There are places on Ix where the harvest was from countries other than your own. That is how it works for the most part.” He shrugged. “I know you spoke to Sam about the particulars of why Ix exists. I have met Thinkers who indulge in that contemplation more often than not.”

She sniffed. “I don’t know. It haunts me sometimes, but day to day existence makes it seem unimportant.”

“That is certainly how I saw it and still see it.  Who is to say that our first world isn’t the same? With gatherers and a harvest that is unseen.” He lifted his head as Ughly peered to one side. “He smells something.”

She stood up as he did and they both gazed in the direction of Ughly’s gaze. There was the sparkle of a river in the distance. Daniel chuckled. “He likes water. But not this time, boy.” He swatted the backalong and with a grunt, Ughly turned his attention back to his father, sedately moving ahead of them.

“Are we in a hurry, really?” Cameron asked, gazing over at the ribbon of water with longing. She was feeling the lack of bathing after the walking and two days on the backalong.

“He would want more than a quick drink. We don't want to waste that much time.” Daniel smiled. “Soon, Cameron. It won’t be long now. The road will change and we will climb and begin a descent to the ocean. You will see it before us as we wind through the foothills.”

She looked down at the inwardly sloping shell. “How hard will it be to hold on as he climbs? And descends?”

“He will keep us stable, don’t be concerned.” Daniel moved to where he stashed the provisions and tossed her a smaller bag. He was considering a surprise for Cameron and wanted to think it through.

*****

Two days later, they paused as the backalongs moved closer to each other at a platform partway to the sea, glistening in the distance. Sil tossed a line to Ughly, who caught it in his mouth and held it as the Kharmon swung over to speak with them.

He smiled, taking a moment to embrace them both. “Good journey, we will disembark in a few hours.”

“I’d like to let Ughly enjoy the lake.” Daniel winked at Sil.

Sil glanced at Cameron, then nodded. “We will move ahead and unload at the river’s mouth. Shall we wait?”

“Thandin’s home is secure, we’ll be fine. I’ll escort Cameron along the coast instead of the bluff path,” Daniel replied. “You’ll take the packages?”

Sil agreed and Cameron watched with curiosity as what was left of their provisions and clothing was loaded onto Sil. Daniel asked her not to question, he wanted to treat her to a surprise. Sil touched her cheek before he took hold of the second line, dangling from Ushma, and climbed away from them.

Daniel drew Ughly’s attention to them with a tug at the rope. The backalong bent his long neck down to within a few feet of the doctor. Cameron backed up slightly at the sheer size of that head. Curiosity overload the hesitation and she moved closer.

“Oh.” She let out a held breath. “What incredible eyes.” The iris appeared to be in constant motion, but as she gazed deeper, she realized it was an ever-changing wash of color, nearly hypnotic.

Daniel reached out and scratched Ughly on the upper lip. “You remember me. Now you remember her. Touch as I do, Cameron.”

She slowly lifted her hand and set it alongside Daniel’s, then began to rub and scratch. The backalong hummed and blinked. The eyelashes were so long, they literally brushed at the human faces. Cameron laughed and Ughly tilted his head at her, focusing one eye directly on her. She found the creature charming and smiled.

The hum changed pitch slightly, and he dropped the rope. Daniel stepped back as Ughly inhaled along Cam’s body. Only after several deep breaths did Daniel draw the backalong’s attention again.

“The lake, Ughly. Let’s take Cameron to the lake.”

The hum lifted in tone, then Ughly rose back to his full height and saw the other two had moved on. He appeared to nod, then began to travel at a speed greater than he had before. Cameron whooped in amazement as her hair blew back from her face. She turned, brushed it away and laughed as they sped down the hill.

Daniel took the rope and draped it over an upturned nodule beyond the shell. He handed on end to Cameron. “Wrap this around your waist and hold on.” He did the same with the other. She had no idea what he planned.

The backalong hummed as if in anticipation. Cameron realized he was literally jumping over small undulations and suddenly the speed at which they were traveling got to her. She grabbed at Daniel.

He held her and just smiled. “Don’t worry!” he all but shouted.

Just as she grew used to his pace, Ughly took a sharp turn and seemed to hang in the air. Cameron gasped as they literally fell while Daniel held her tightly. “Take a deep breath!”

“Why?” She looked around, saw the water fast approaching and did as he said, closing her eyes.

The splash rose high above their head. Cameron saw it soar above them, and come crashing down. She sputtered, then laughed as it washed about their feet. She fell and scrambled on the shell, now full of water. Daniel helped her as the water calmed down. It was cold but refreshing. Ughly was paddling about as contentedly as she assumed a backalong ever got. The humming definitely sounded pleasurable.

She through her head back and shouted, “You could have told me!”

“Why spoil the fun?” Daniel grinned back. “We’re lucky, he didn’t take the highest point.” He gestured above them to a steep drop off area. “He took the third highest. Must have sensed your concern.”

She floated on her back, too content to be angry at the spurt of fear she’d experienced. “I’m glad he didn’t cannonball. He belly flopped! Didn’t it hurt?”

“No, he retracted his feeding tubes. What is a cannonball?”

She bobbed a moment, then curled up into a ball, holding to her legs. He figured it out. “Oh! That would have been impossible. They don’t bend that way.”

“Good thing.” She sighed, flattening out again. “This is luxurious.”

“Enjoy it. He’ll take his time getting to the other side of the lake. Then we will wind down next to the dam.” He reached over and set a hand at her breast. “I want you, now.”

With a smile, she agreed. A glance above showed her Ughly, watching avidly. It almost made her blush, and she whispered to Daniel, “He’s watching.”

“He knows we make love.” He pushed her to the edge of the shell and rode her, splashing the water as the humming grew louder. As he rested, having seen her fly with the sensation several times. “They are sensitive.”

“Sensitive, sure.” She drew a deep breath. “Everything on Ix is sensitive.”

“Yes, that is right. Howard once said to me that the entire planet is wired with ESP. I didn’t know what he meant at first, but he explained it fair enough. He was right. We share with Ughly, he will remember us with pleasure.” Daniel stroked her hair. “Feel cleaner?”

“Uh huh.” She floated calm, content and clean. It was wonderful.

When Ughly climbed from the lake, she watched with amazement as the water slowly drained away. “He’s permeable?”

“No, he opened a drain. Some he’ll keep, some he’ll release,” Daniel replied.

Suddenly, she realized something. “We have no clothing!”

“Yes, that won’t matter. We’ll meet the rest at the river’s mouth and dress before we continue,” he reassured her.

“My tunic?” she asked. “Is there danger here from appearing unaligned?”

“It is there, also.” He smiled. “Suddenly worried?”

She thought a moment. “Yes, some. And excited. I want this over with.”

“We all do,” he agreed.

Less than an hour later, they were helped down from Ughly, who then followed the two adults back up the river on the other side. She watched him amble away. “That was amazing. Thank you!” she called out.

“We thanked him enough, trust me.” Daniel helped her dress. “His father tried to lick the inner shell!”

“What?” She was intrigued.

“He liked our scent.” Daniel grinned at her. “Ughly didn’t want to share. He’s growing up. Ushma didn’t push it.”

“I didn’t see that!” she protested.

“You were eating.” Pindari combed Cameron’s hair for her. “We’re going along the bluff, so don’t dawdle too long along the water, Daniel.”

Cameron looked around. “Where is the ocean? I can hear it.” She was anxious; it hard been hard to tell from the distance, but already she knew it wasn’t the color of Earth’s oceans.

“Just over that slope.” Daniel took her hand. “No shoes, trust me.”

She set the shoes down and smiled at Pindari. “You excited to see your sister again?”

Pindari nodded. “It will be good to see her. And Tendar. Enjoy the bay, Cameron.”

Daniel pulled her to keep up, so she went along, waving back at Pindari.

The cook stood, watching as Cameron climbed the slope and then stood, frozen. The words of the small human just reached her ears.

“Oh. How incredible…”

Pindari smiled, then turned to the rest. “We will be prepared for the worst, hope for the best.”

Sil nodded, as the rest did, and they began the journey on the bluff path.

Cameron stared, astounded. “It’s green! Oh, that ocean green of glass.” Her eyes scanned the bay. “Doesn’t darken much.”

“It’s a shallow bay. The greater ocean is a deeper green. I found it very difficult to get used to. The Mediterranean is such a deep blue.” He sighed, then put a hand at her back. “We have to get moving, Pindari warned us not to tarry.”

She nodded and happily slid down the sandy dunes to where the water washed the shore, where she hesitated. “I can…it’s okay for me to touch it?”

“Yes, of course. There are few dangers to the ocean and the bay itself harbors none.” Daniel watched as she exuberantly trotted into the water, holding her dress up to keep it dry.

“Whoa!” she laughed, moving back from the waves. “It’s cold!”

“Near the river’s mouth, it’s bound to be.” He took her hand, leaving her one to keep her dress dry. They strolled up the beach as he answered her questions about the bay. She found it hard to keep from gazing at the surf.

“Where it crashes,” she said softly, “So much like the art glass they used to sell at this place near where I lived. I always loved that color, a sort of aquamarine green. Monterey Bay is beautiful, but this is astounding.”

“I would imagine the Kharmon would say the same of your bay. Is it larger than this?”