The Search For WondLa (19 page)

PART IV

CHAPTER 34: GREAT MIGRATION

A hot wind
blew dusty gusts over the dark badlands as the procession began. Rovender was saddled on top of Otto, using the beamguide to navigate, while Eva rode along with Muthr in the Goldfish. Eva leaned back with her feet on the dashboard and looked up at the afternoon sky. She watched brilliant patches of blue begin to overtake the gray clouds that blanketed the atmosphere. Even though it was daylight, she saw a distant half-moon peeking down at her through the cloud cover, its face pocked full of craters.

They continued over the crescent dunes for several hours, stopping to refuel near a rocky ridge. Sweaty and nauseous, Eva exited the Goldfish and climbed on top of Otto. She sat next to Rovender as the water bear journeyed onward; their shadows grew long over the dunes.

“Feeling better?” Rovender asked as he watched the endless desert unfurl in front of them. “Your complexion has returned. You look more like yourself.”

Eva sipped her Pow-R-drink. “Yeah. Muthr said it was motion sickness.” She glanced down at the robot driving alongside Otto. “I think she’s happier with me up here on Otto anyway. That hovercraft may look like fun to ride in, but it’s a real clunker.”

“I am not one to trust a machine,” Rovender said, glancing down at it. “They are always limited by the hands that crafted them.”

Eva looked down at Muthr navigating the Goldfish. “I just want to find the hands belonging to a person that crafted
anything
.”

“Have you ever known another like yourself?” Rovender seemed relaxed on the makeshift saddle he’d created with blankets and bed mats.

“No.” Eva’s eyes scanned the bleak landscape.

“So then, tell me: Who built your home?” Her companion picked at one of his ivory teeth with his fingernail while he watched clouds drift by. “Who built Mother Robot?”

Eva finished her drink. “I … I don’t know, really. I’ve seen stuff in the Sanctuary that said ‘Made by the Dynastes Corporation,’ but Muthr said she knew nothing about that. All she knew was that I was very special. That I was part of a ‘future world vision for humankind.’”

“What does that mean?” Rovender looked at Eva sideways.

Eva shook her head, feeling hot. Feeling stupid. “I don’t know.”

“Well, perhaps we’ll find out soon,” Rovender said. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It will take a couple of days to get there, if I’ve measured the distance correctly.”

Eva nodded. “Okay.”

They rode in silence for some time as the orange sun sank into the west behind them. With the sky now dim, Otto let out a singsong series of low hoots.

“What is it, boy?” Rovender patted the behemoth.

“He senses others like him.” Eva stood and peered out into the fading twilight. “It’s his herd.”

Somewhere, far in the distance, carried by strange and wondrous currents, a chorus of water bears drifted and danced through the gloaming.

“They sound like they are northeast of us,” Rovender said as he pulled out his spyglass. “But I see no sign of them. They must be some ways off.”

“Otto is telling them about us … about Besteel.” Eva looked down; sorrow racked her face. “And he’s singing about the loss of his companion.”

“That is amazing,” Rovender said, running his calloused fingers over Otto’s armored plates. “Many times I have seen and heard these tardigrades in my travels. But always I have thought of them as simple beasts. I never knew them to be so interconnected.”

“Just like the forest, right?” Eva sat back down.

Rovender looked up at the sky. “Yes, Eva Nine, just like the forest. Just like everything.”

There was a loud blurping noise. Eva looked down to see the Goldfish putter out and drop into the fine hot sand.

“Well, that does it,” Muthr said with an electronic sigh as she exited the crippled hovercraft. “Despite my adjustments, Eva, I do not know if we can go much farther with this machine. The tail fins are leaking hydraulic fluid, and I am making it worse by driving it farther. Dirt and grit are clotting the steering lines.”

“Let us rest here for the night, if we can,” Rovender said. He pointed to a cluster of round lichen-plastered boulders that were half-buried in the dunes. “Those rocks up ahead should be a safe place for camp.”

He hopped down on his backward-bending legs. “Come, Mother Robot, I’ll guide you by foot.”

“Careful, Rovee,” Eva said. “Otto says his herd has seen what they call tunnel biters—or sand-snipers—out here.”

“Have they? Well, I trust their words.” Rovender began thumping the sandy ground with his walking stick. “Let me know if you see anything from up there.”

Eva stood on top of Otto and scanned the horizon in all directions. “There’s no sign of them,” she announced. “I think we are safe.”

“Good.” Rovender stopped. “Eva, Mother Robot, let us drag the hovercraft to the campsite. We may need it after all.”

After hauling the Goldfish close to the massive rock formation, Eva and Rovender set up camp atop the largest boulder of the bunch. Nestled below, Muthr remained with the Goldfish as the Omnipod instructed her on how to mend the tail rudder and stabilizer fin. Otto was beside the busy robot, stripping the lichen off of the wind-worn stones and licking up the trapped moisture underneath.

As he sat high up on their mossy perch, Rovender took out his woven sleeping mat and unrolled it. “For once many of the clouds have cleared away,” he observed. “We may get to see the Rings of Orbona tonight.”

“Rings?” Eva looked up. A chilled desert wind played with her hair, blowing her bangs into her eyes. With the onset of night she was no longer uneasy about being out in such an open space.

“Oh, yes.” Rovender unhooked his lanterns from the overloaded rucksack. “Orbona is encircled by quite an expansive set of rings consisting of asteroid fragments and dust.”

“How long have they been here? The rings?” Eva gazed up at the dark clouds wandering across the horizon.

“Shortly after Solas was established, an enormous asteroid was discovered heading on a direct course to Orbona,” Rovender explained as he lit his lanterns. “The Ojo family used an immense sonic weapon, much like a boomrod, to disintegrate the asteroid a safe distance from our atmosphere. Over time the fragments began to circle the planet, forming the rings.”

“Did you see it?” Eva asked.

“Oh, no,” Rovender replied. “This was long before I hatched. But there remain records of it in my clan.”

“Where do they live? Your clan?” Eva stared into the glow of Rovender’s lantern as he handed it to her. She glanced down at Muthr, who was working on the Goldfish under the pale blue glow of the Omnipod. With the sun long gone, the cool of night pervaded the land. Eva could feel the climatefibers in her tunic and jackvest warming her.

“The Cæruleans, which is my clan, live quite a distance from here. They arrived in Orbona several generations before I hatched, during what was called the Great Migration. They traveled many light-years aboard a ship filled with passengers, led by the great king, Ojo.” Rovender handed Eva her bedroll and a blanket.

“Where did they come from?” Eva stood, unrolling the mat. “Why did they come here?”

“They came from many different worlds, most with just the belongings on their backs. Our village shaman was but a nymph when she arrived here, carrying only a necklace from her mother and the severed foot of her slain warrior father.” Rovender lit another lantern. He found his pouch of seedpods and offered some to Eva.

“But why here?” Eva grabbed the seedpods and popped them into her mouth. As soon as her damp tongue touched the husk, it split open, producing several small seeds, which tasted nutty. Eva spat out the husks, as she’d seen her friend do, and put another handful into her mouth.

“Many traveled from dying war-torn planets.” Rovender’s voice was distant with recollection. “You see, the Ojo family had the ability to
reawaken
dead planets—bring them out of their hibernating slumber. They picked Orbona for its climate and extreme distance from our past worlds … and past lives.”

Eva thought of the painting she’d seen on the ceiling in Hostia’s home. The eye painted on the nose of the ship was the same as Queen Ojo’s eyes.

“Oeeah! Look there!” Rovender pointed up into the sky. “There they are. You can even see the outer gossamer ring.”

The dusky clouds moved on, like a colossal herd drifting away from the stars, and revealed a glittering band arcing across the heavens. Eva followed the celestial ring to the horizon, where the dark desert disappeared into the faded light. With the glimmer of the gibbous moon reflected in the ebony sand below, she imagined their camp was floating out in the middle of the universe—and her friends could not be touched by anyone … or anything.

“It is beautiful, is it not?” Rovender took a deep breath.

“I feel … so … tiny.” Eva took in the entire starlit expanse. “So … insignificant.”

“Tiny—perhaps.” Rovender kept his eyes fixed on the rings. “Insignificant—never, Eva Nine. No living thing is insignificant.”

CHAPTER 35: TURNFINS

A chorus of
soft, low hoots summoned the daylight.

Though it was still hazy out, most of the stars had faded. With the cloud cover swept away, the distant Rings of Orbona stretched across the violet predawn sky. The chilly breeze that had prickled Eva’s face now danced off to hide from the rising sun.

Eva blinked out the sleep as she woke and spied the source of the hooting. Three turnfins had roosted on a rock overlooking the camp. In the morning haze Rovender Kitt threw bits of old fruit at them, which they captured in their beaky maws. One of the bird creatures flapped its wings and warbled at another, trying to steal its prize.

“Turnfins.” Rovender grinned as he finished feeding them. “I don’t know how they find you, but they just do—no matter how far out from civilization you are.” He rolled up his sleeping mat.

“Turnfins,” Eva repeated, and stretched her long, skinny arms up into the pink sky. This spooked the birds, causing them to beat their wings, but they remained on their perch. “Too bad there’s no water nearby. They could dive in and catch us breakfast.”

“Yes, too bad …” Rovender chuckled. He gazed up and studied a small flock circling high above them. “Though, you never know. There may be water out here somewhere.”

“Good morning!” Muthr called up from below. “Eva, dear, how did you sleep?”

Eva leaned over her rocky perch and waved. “I slept great, thanks,” she said. “How’s the Goldfish coming along?”

“I worked on it through the night while Otto kept me company. He is quite friendly, this one.” Muthr patted Otto on the head. “The craft shall now run considerably better. We are currently at eighty-seven percent functionality,” she reported as she turned on the hovercraft.

In the light of the rising sun, Eva could see that the purring Goldfish looked better than it had the day before. It now floated more than a meter above the sand. The tail fins had been reattached in their proper positions, and even the audio player was singing softly.

“That’s amazing!” Eva scrambled down to join Muthr.

Otto came up and nuzzled Eva’s left hand for a scratch behind the ear.

“Hiya, Otto. Been watching over Muthr while she fixes this thing?”

The water bear hooted a happy reply.

“I had to use one of your Pow-R-drinks to clean and flush the fuel lines, but it should really enhance its overall performance.” Muthr handed a SustiBar to Eva. “After breakfast, and after we tend to your hand, I can teach you how to drive it, if you want.”

“Whoa, really?” Eva forgot all about her food, and her injury, and crawled into the driver’s seat. A series of buttons and a small control yoke, for steering, greeted her. Brightly projected on the clear polished windshield was a display of numbers and indicators, which included hover height, speed, and wind direction. “This is going to be awesome!” Eva said, turning the yoke back and forth. She paused. “But don’t you think I’ll get sick again?”

“I checked about your nausea with the Omnipod.” Muthr held up the device. “Apparently kinetosis, motion sickness, may be prevented if you are driving. Plus, navigation of a vehicle is always a good skill to acquire.”

“Well, then, let’s get moving!” Rovender tossed his jingling rucksack down to the soft sand next to the hovercraft. He followed, hopping down to join Eva, and handed the beamguide to her. “Before we set out, let us check our bearings so that we can confirm we are heading in the right direction.” Rovender took hold of Eva’s hand and angled one side of the square-cut crystal so that the beams of morning sunlight entered it directly.

With the cube acting as a prism, light projected out, spreading like a flat hologram in all directions. Eva immediately realized that what she was viewing was a detailed virtual relief map of Orbona’s surface terrain. She recognized the miniature city of Solas, nestled next to Lake Concors. Eva even saw the tiny pillars of Lacus, on the opposite shore, and the Wandering Forest beyond it.

Rovender pointed to a sparkling dot on the map. “This is our current location, here … ,” he said, then walked through the hologram and pointed to a cluster of knobby spires rising from a depression in the ground. “And here is where, I believe, we want to go.”

“This is quite impressive, Mr. Kitt.” Muthr’s head poked up through the projected holographic landscape like a great desert sphinx. “However, what are those blackened areas?”

“Uncharted lands,” Rovender answered as he rubbed his whiskers. “These beamguides work simply by communicating with other beamguides buried in numerous locations. This is as far as Solas’s explorers have recorded.”

“What’s that?” Eva pointed to a small, flat depression in the map. It was located halfway between their current location and their destination at the ancient ruins.

“It looks like a small body of water, perhaps even an oasis.” Rovender knelt close to get a better look.

“Well, we could certainly use more water.” Muthr rolled over to inspect it. “And it does not seem far off from our projected course.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Rovender stood with his eyes still fixed on the landmark. He peered out into the landscape toward its direction. “I wonder if that’s where these turnfins came from.”

“Let’s find out,” Eva said, handing the cube back.

“Okay, Eva Nine.” Rovender climbed up onto Otto. “Lead the way.”

Rovender sat high atop Otto, enjoying his lunch and feeding turnfins, as the giant water bear trailed behind the Goldfish. Everywhere Eva looked it seemed the turnfins were about, swooping and squawking—like the holograms she’d seen of crying gulls as they followed ocean-bound ships.

Eva navigated the craft up toward the crest of an ashen gray linear dune. “Muthr, what do you think we will find at the ruins?” she asked.

Muthr was silent, save for her clicking eyelids, as she seemed to process Eva’s question.

“I do not know, Eva, dear.” Muthr looked out at the horizon. Little lights flickered on the back of her head. “To be truthful, we are so beyond the limits of my programming that I have had to continually reprogram myself as we continue our journey.”

Eva glided the Goldfish over the crest of the dune, and down the slip face. “I feel like I’ve had to reprogram myself too. No holography chamber prepared me for this.”

Muthr nodded. “I have to wonder what our makers had in mind when they put us on this planet. It can be such a volatile environment.”

“You’ve got that right.” Eva chuckled and steered the hovercraft up the next windward slope. “But it is beautiful, too.”

“I agree, but honestly, none of our programs were accurate.” Muthr let out a static sigh. “I feel like I failed you, Eva.”

Eva looked over at Muthr. With her head looking down at her wire-veined hands, the robot appeared to be despondent.

“You didn’t fail. And it’s going to be okay,” Eva said, patting Muthr’s hand. “We’ll go to this place and see if we can’t find some clues, or even other humans. And, if we don’t, we’ll keep searching … right?”

“Right,” Muthr repeated. “I just want you to know that I am so very proud of you, Eva. I believe in you. I believe that we are doing the right thing.”

“I think so too.” Eva smiled as she brought the Goldfish up the windward slope of yet another large dune.

“Up there!” Rovender yelled.

Eva turned to see him standing on top of Otto, goggles in hand. He pointed toward the horizon. “The oasis is over there!”

Eva aimed her gaze in the direction he was pointing. In the far distance flocks of turnfins circled. She steered the hovercraft toward them and pulled the throttle back, sending whorls of grainy sand swirling about in her wake.