Test of Magnitude (The Torian Reclamation) (24 page)

A child Sheen walked up to them. Nunon4 gave him a hand signal and he sat down with them. Brandon recognized the child.

“You remember my son?” Nunon4 said.

Brandon and Mip7 nodded. Mip7 said Tulros to him.

Brandon spoke. “Nunon4, you said that Arkan9 predicted something about Derek being involved in a …reclamation?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Reclamation of what, exactly?”

Nunon4 thought for a moment. “Perhaps the word does not translate well. Suffice it to say that things are changing in the Erobian Sphere. Not just here in Tora. The prophet foresaw this. He also foresaw that you Earthmen could be a great asset to us. Evil times come, but perhaps they will be short-lived. You and your friends may play a significant role in helping us to restore a lawful and peaceful society. This is what the prophet saw. It has already begun.”

They sat in silence for a while. Brandon considered Nunon4’s words. They were resplendent with hope. It was strange, but suddenly Brandon wished he could sit in front of the halcyon arc.

The Sheen child suddenly spoke. “Brandon Foss.”

Brandon looked down at him. “Yes? Sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Nunon5.”

Brandon forced a polite smile. “Of course.”

“I have a message for you,” the child said.

“What’s this?” Nunon4 said to his son, seemingly annoyed.

The child looked up at his father. “I’m sorry, Sire, but Arkan9 told me to wait and deliver the message now, after he was gone and the Earthman returned, and to tell no one of it until then.”

“A message from Arkan9?” Mip7 said. “Why did you wait so long to tell us?”

“A Sheen child waits until it is his turn to speak. We are not always in a hurry, as the native Torians are.” He looked up at his father again. “ Right, Sire?”

“Very good, son. Give Brandon your message.”

“He wants you to go to Landen. You will be received there. The prophet wanted me to tell you not to worry, and to be of good cheer and courage.” Nunon4’s son appeared to be tremendously satisfied at having delivered his message. His father gave his approval in the form of a nod.

“Landen?” Mip7 asked.

 “It is a Sheen colony on C5 Amulen,” Nunon4 said. “Similar to this one in many ways, only more reclusive, and more rural.”

Brandon grimaced. “More rural than here?”

“It could be a dangerous place for a frail creature like an Earthling,” Nunon4 said to Mip7. “You will need to escort him safely. I’m sure everything will be all right, if the prophet has ordained it.”

“Prophet,” Brandon muttered to himself.

“Yes,” Nunon4 said, having overheard him. “Any remaining doubt about that has now been removed.”

* * *

Brandon didn’t mind travelling to some far-off new place. There was nothing for him at Uden anymore, and the scene of the destruction only served to remind him that this star system was not his home. He had come to like the Sheen colony, though, so perhaps going to a different one, even farther out in the sticks, would afford him a place to rest for a while. He felt like resting. If Arkan9 had directed him to go there, that was good enough for Brandon. He actually had a glimmer of newfound hope that he would somehow find Derek and Arkan9 at this Landen colony. Stranger things have happened to him lately.

He and Mip7 spent one night at Uden and rode their yuquil back to the local spaceport early the next day, where they ran into some trouble. They had parked their fighter craft off on one side of the tarmac, tucked out of the way, where several other small shuttles were kept. It seemed like a natural place to store them, and two days ago no one had showed any concern when they left them there. Today, however, when they came back, military personnel had sectioned off that area and were not allowing Mip7 and Brandon near the ships again. So, they had to take shuttle flights to get to their destination.

No big deal as it turned out. Mip7 found that his Cardinal-4 employee expense account was working again. They had a few argims in the spaceport lounge and then caught a short flight to a larger Banorian spaceport, where they had another argim before catching a direct flight to the only spaceport on C5 Amulen. They boarded a hoverbus from there, changed busses twice, and headed out across the sand.

C5 Amulen was a brown, dusty place. The air was dry and hot. The desert conditions reminded Brandon of a vacation he took in Utah back home during the early years of his marriage.

Sheri. He hadn’t thought about her lately. Brandon wondered how many years—well, months—well, days—it had taken her to find another man after his disappearance. Funny thing was he really didn’t miss her. That is, he didn’t miss the Sheri he knew at the time of his abduction. He missed the one he knew from their courtship days, but she had been gone for years already. Maybe there was a good woman waiting for him somewhere in that cryonic network at the C2 Science Complex. Female companionship would be nice. The space station commander owed him big time now, and Brandon had every intention of holding him to it—just as soon as he found the energy. Right now, he was tired.  A peaceful, quiet place to sleep long hours for a few days was what he hoped to come to.

At last, the final hoverbus stopped at a remote station with a small rural village behind it, similar to the one where they rented yuquil in order to get to Uden. Same drill here, only the riding animals were slightly different looking. Mip7 explained that they were yuquin, a close relative of yuquil. They had much thicker, hard-leather skin and a big horn on their head.

“These animals are more naturally protected from the serpents here,” Mip7 said after getting directions from the stable keeper.

“Serpents?”

“Yes, venomous serpents, and very aggressive. Our leather skin protects us, for the most part, but they would probably be deadly to you. We may see some along the way, I don’t know. I have never been here, but have seen shows about this area.”

“Great. Well, I’m staying up here off the ground, and not letting these animals eat if I am underneath any tree.”

“There aren’t as many trees on C5 Amulen, mostly just bushes, so that plan will be easy to follow. You don’t need to worry about ground serpents as much as the flying ones.”

“Flying poisonous snakes?”

“Here.” Mip7 handed him a hand-laser with green and red buttons.

“This looks like a fishing pole,” Brandon said.

“It’s a fishing device, yes. Like the ones you and Derek used to catch candeer fish, only bigger and more powerful—so be careful with it. These are for larger saltwater fish. Flying serpents are sometimes used as bait for them. You can shoot them right out of the air with the green laser. Might even be fun for someone like you.”

“Honestly,” Brandon said, “I’ve had enough of shooting at things for the time being. I’ll keep it handy though, thanks.”

The two of them rode out over the desolate landscape. Yellow and red patches painted the otherwise brown expanses of ground, along with an occasional bush, small tree, or cactus-looking plant. The place had a unique beauty to it, if you could stand the heat. They each had two water skins draped over their animal’s necks, and Brandon drank from his frequently. He was nearly finished with the first skin when they came to a watering hole at the bottom of a gulley. It was surrounded by thick bushes. They found an opening and directed their animals towards it in order to water them there, without dismounting.

Brandon’s yuquin was chewing a mouthful of bush leaves when it swung its head out suddenly, making a stabbing motion with its horn in the air. Something flew up out of its way and hovered in front of Brandon, about four feet from his head. It was a flying serpent. Damned if the thing didn’t look just like a miniature dragon. Brandon fumbled for his fishing laser, but dropped it when the yuquin bucked to take another stab at the serpent. It was all Brandon could do to hold on and not fall off.

A large object then blurred in the air in front of Brandon where the serpent was flying, and the serpent was gone. The yuquin settled down again. Brandon looked to the ground. There was one of those giant frog-head looking animals he had seen on the wildlife documentary, sitting in the shallow water with the serpent’s head dangling from its mouth. The frog-thing then extended its head upward and swallowed the serpent whole. It then jumped over to a patch of dry grass where it promptly changed colors to blend in with the ground cover, becoming nearly invisible to Brandon’s eyes.

“You let that one get a little close,” Mip7 said.

Brandon dismounted to retrieve his laser. Mip7 came over and extended his hand to help him remount.

“Is Landen much farther?” Brandon asked. “I’m halfway through my water supply already.”

“Based on what they told me, I think we are most of the way there. Maybe over the next ridge.”

They rode on, but didn’t stop at any more watering holes. Brandon saw a large bird fly by with a snake in its talons, but other than that no further serpent sightings.

Mip7’s estimation was almost correct. The village could be seen from the top of the next ridge, but it was off to the right a ways. They had approached from a slightly wrong direction, so now had to make their way back along the hilltop.

They came to a small stable on the outskirts of the village, where a young Sheen seemed surprised to see them. They deposited their animals and Mip7 asked about lodging. The stable boy led them towards the front of the village, near the area they would have come to if they had approached from the right direction. They came to a shack and stopped.

“Wait here please,” the stable boy said and entered.

Landen was located on higher ground than much of the surrounding horizon. The air was slightly cooler here, and there were some small groves of trees. The houses were a mix of wood cabins and grass huts, much like Uden, but were spread out more from one another, except for several areas of condensed shacks. The most notable landmark, however, was a tall dark rock formation of some kind towering from the middle of the village.

The stable boy emerged from the shack with another Sheen, who bowed and said, “Tulros.” The boy then ran back towards the stable.

“Turlos,” Mip7 said. “I am Mip7 of Cardinal-4, and this is Brandon Foss, a friendly alien, from planet Earth.”

“I am Madkin3. We know who you are. We live simple lives here, but are not without communications. Why have you come?”

Mip7 explained about the message from Arkan9. Madkin3 thought for a while before responding.

“Arkan9 is greatly respected in Landen,” he said. “It is a great mystery that he allowed himself to be taken away from us, in such a manner as has happened. I now perceive our humble village may play a small part in the ensuing battle of wisdom and folly. You are welcome here.”

Madkin3 faced Brandon and continued speaking.

“You may not find us to be especially warm and friendly. This is nothing personal, please understand. It is simply our way. We are …a reclusive lot. I will personally endeavor to extend friendship to you, however. Please consider me to be your servant. Follow me now, and I will provide you with comfortable lodging.”

He turned and began walking. Mip7 shrugged and followed, so Brandon fell in line behind them.

“Why did you say Arkan9
allowed
himself to be taken away?” Mip7 asked.

“It must be so,” Madkin3 said. “He is a seer. He does not control the circumstances of our times, but he does choose his own path. Perhaps he felt he was needed most among the captives.”

Brandon spoke. “Battle of wisdom and folly?”

“It is not a foregone conclusion that wisdom triumphs over folly,” Madkin3 replied. “It is conceivable that wisdom surrenders to the force of folly, in some situations. But Folly remains folly and wisdom remains wisdom, even should the worlds be destroyed.”

They walked by the towering rock in the center of the village. Brandon could now see it was, in fact, one tall, flat, magnificent black rock. There was writing carved on the face of it. As they passed by, Madkin3 pointed to it.

“Here we have wisdom, in the written form of the law. It needs no advocate, no defender. It is evident for all, and those who embrace it discover its power. It cannot be destroyed, only rejected. Folly, by contrast, cannot stand on its own. It must have fools who defend it and choose to fight for it, as it is without substance.”

They passed a campfire pit area with tables and benches.

“Meals are served here at the appropriate times. Please partake freely.”

They passed a large cluster of well-built shacks with open doorways. Brandon could hear what sounded like TV sets on inside them.

“In these buildings you will find modern conveniences. Video screens, all manner of communications, and lounges serving adult beverages. They are open for all.”

Finally, they stopped before a nice looking cabin.

“Here is lodging. Consider yourself our esteemed guests. There are two beds, running water, and modern hygiene facilities. Would you like to rest now?”

“Yes,” Brandon and Mip7 said at the same time.

* * *

“I think we better go back,” Mip7 said.

“To Cardinal-4?” Brandon asked. “It’s a wreck.”

“The governor is requesting my return. And this,” he pointed at the video screen, “we need to get resolved.”

“I’m not going,” Brandon said. “I like it here, strange as that may sound. Our cabin is comfortable and quiet. I haven’t slept this well since I have been revived. You can go handle whatever business you need to. I’ll stay here for now.”

Mip7 shook his head. “The last time an Earthling said that to me, something bad happened to him as a result of my compliance.”

They were sitting in a lounge in one of the public shacks Madkin3 pointed out yesterday. Brandon had slept solid for maybe 18 hours, and then enjoyed a good meal this morning. After that, he and Mip7 explored the village a bit before they ended up here for a couple glasses of argim. Mip7 was reading messages on his lightpad when the video screen flashed Brandon’s picture and stated he was being sought by military authorities.