The Klaatu Terminus (32 page)

“Are you a Medicant?” Tucker asked.

“Me?” Emelyn laughed and placed the device on the table. “Hardly, although this is one of their instruments, as I’m sure you know.”

“Then what
are
you?”

“I am a historian.”

That was about the last thing Tucker had expected her to say. She might as well have claimed to be a lion tamer, or a taxi driver.

He said, “When we first walked in, you said, ‘
We’ve
been waiting for you.’ Who is
we
?”

Emelyn pointed at the ceiling. Hovering in the rafters was a Klaatu.

“Tucker, this is Iyl Rayn.”

“I think we’ve met.”

“More times than you know,” said Emelyn. “She has much to share with you.”

Tucker regarded the gauzy figure suspiciously. “Is she the one that’s been doing all this? Sending us all over the place?”

“Yes and no. It is complicated.”

“You sound like Awn.”

“Awn is my sister, too. To answer your question, Iyl Rayn designed the diskos, but her ability to manipulate them is limited. The Gnomon have been attempting to manipulate them as well, with limited success. Much of what you have experienced was the result of being caught in the web of their conflicting efforts.”

“I thought the Boggsians made the diskos.”

“Yes, at Iyl Rayn’s behest. Later, the Gnomon commissioned the Boggsians to build the disko-bearing automata known as Timesweeps, or maggots. These conflicting efforts resulted in a number of paradoxes. Iyl Rayn and the Gnomon are now working to resolve matters.”

“Is there a way for me to talk to her?” Tucker asked, looking up at the Klaatu.

“Tomorrow we will go to Harmony, where there is a device that will allow her to speak with us directly, and we will rejoin Kosh and my sister Emma.”

“Kosh? He’s here?”

“He has been for some weeks. He’ll be glad to see you. Are you hungry?”

“Yes.” Tucker couldn’t remember when he had last eaten.

“Eat then. I must do some repairs to Lia’s injuries. Tonight, we will rest. Tomorrow, we have a long walk ahead of us.”

“H
ELP ME OUT HERE
, C
LYDE
,” K
OSH SAID
. “I
GOT NO
idea what I’m doing.”

The horse did not reply. Kosh glowered helplessly at the tangle of leather straps and buckles he was holding in his arms.

Emma, perched nearby on a wooden fence rail, said, “I don’t think you’re speaking his language.”

Kosh fumbled with the harness. “This part looks like maybe it goes over his head. Hold still, Clyde.” He tried to drape the strap over the horse’s neck. The horse backed up, shook its head, snorted, and stamped its foot, narrowly missing Kosh’s toes.

“Whoa!” Kosh said, jumping back.

Emma convulsed with laughter.

“I don’t think I’m cut out to be a farmer.” Kosh threw the harness to the ground and joined Emma on the fence rail.

“Maybe Emelyn can give us some pointers.”

“You think she knows how to harness a draft horse?”

Emma shrugged. “She couldn’t possibly know less than you.”

“Sitting here dressed like a couple of Amish farmers and we can’t even hitch up a plow,” Kosh grumbled. They were wearing clothing the Boggsians had left behind — Kosh in bib overalls and a straw hat, Emma in a dark blue long-sleeved dress.

Two weeks ago, they had been snatched from the Medicant hospital by maggots. The maggots had delivered them here, through the disko in the barn. A woman who looked like she could be Emma’s mother had been waiting for them. She had introduced herself as Emelyn.

“This is Harmony,” Emelyn told them. “It was once a thriving Boggsian settlement, but the last of the Boggsians are gone. You are welcome to anything you find while you wait.”

“What are we supposed to be waiting for?” Kosh asked.

“For Tucker Feye.”

“Who
are
you?” Kosh asked.

“As I told you, my name is Emelyn.” She smiled at Emma. “I am your sister.”

“But —”

Emelyn held up a hand. “Be patient. You must wait. Feed yourselves. Rest. Know that you are safe. All will be explained in time.”

With that, she disappeared into the disko.

They had found food in one of the houses — stocks of canned vegetables, flour, hard cheeses, squashes, potatoes, and a barrel of slightly wrinkled apples. The Boggsians had not been gone long. In the sheds beside the house, they discovered several bags of seed grains and legumes stored in drums, and an abundance of tools. A half-acre vegetable patch behind the house was green with spring onions, lettuce, chard, radishes, and carrots. The draft horse — Emma had immediately named him Clyde — had shown up the next day, strolling through Harmony as if he owned the place.

They had everything they needed to run a farm — except the knowledge of how to harness a horse.

“I feel like a monkey trying to rebuild a carburetor,” he said.

Emma wrapped her hands around his arm and leaned close. “We’ll figure things out.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Kosh glared down at the tangled harness, but he was smiling.

Lia awakened to the aroma of fresh-baked bread. She opened her eyes. A few feet away, Tucker was sprawled on the other bed, snoring lightly. Lia tipped her head up and looked at her feet. Her right ankle and foot were encased in a plastic sheath. She sat up. Aside from some stiffness, she felt good. Putting her feet on the floor, she tried to stand. Her ankle bore her weight with only mild discomfort. Placing her feet carefully, she walked into the main room of the cabin.

Emelyn was sitting at the table, writing by hand on a large paper tablet. Next to the tablet was a basket of sliced bread and several jars of condiments. She looked up and smiled.

“You are awake,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

Lia nodded and sat down. Emelyn pushed a plate across the table.

“We have hazelnut butter, blueberry preserves, and jam made from thimbleberries.”

Wordlessly, Lia spread a slice of bread with the preserves and ate. Emelyn watched her for a moment, then returned to her writing. Lia ate the entire piece of bread. It was delicious. She helped herself to another slice, put a small dab of the hazelnut butter on it, and tasted it.

“I prefer the blueberries,” she said.

“Ah! She speaks at last!” Emelyn said. “You should try the jam.”

“I do not know what thimbleberries are,” Lia said, irritated by the woman’s brusque good cheer.

“You will never know if you do not taste them.”

Lia spread a small amount of the pinkish jam on her bread and took a bite. She chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, then said, “I prefer the blueberries.”

Emelyn laughed. Lia scowled.

Emelyn sobered and said, “How is your ankle?”

“It is better. Thank you.”

“You may need to wear the brace for a week or two, but you should be able to get around on it. Now, I imagine you have some questions for me?”

Lia spread more blueberry preserves on her bread and ate. When she had finished her second slice, she said, “What are you writing?”

“I am recording a history.”

“Of what?”

“Of you, among other things.”

“Why?”

“It is what I do.”

“Why?”

“We must all do something.”

“I have done all I care to do.”

“Do you think so?”

“I have met my mother and killed my father. I am done with doing things.”

“I hope not. You are young.”

“I do not feel young.” In fact, now that her hunger was sated, Lia felt very little at all. She thought of Tucker sleeping in the next room. A boy she hardly knew. What did she feel for him? She tried to recall the affection, the respect, the fierce attraction she had once felt, but it was like trying to feel for a needle with thick woolen mittens. What was
wrong
with her?

“You have had a shock, both in your body and in your mind,” said Emelyn. “It will get better.”

Lia stared at Emelyn, watched her features blur and quiver. She blinked; tears coursed down her cheeks.

“That’s a start,” said Emelyn.

Tucker, blinking sleepily, appeared in the bedroom doorway.

“What’s going on?” he said.

Lia stood and walked to him. She put her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Tucker looked past her at Emelyn, his face a study in utter bewilderment.

“She’s doing much better,” Emelyn said.

A
S HE HAD BEEN DOING EVERY DAY SINCE ARRIVING IN
Harmony, Kosh visited the disko at the back of the barn. He stood before it, careful not to get too close, and stared into the swirling gray disk. Facing the disko made him feel alive and in control, like jumping on a motorcycle or standing at the edge of a cliff. Anytime he wanted, he could step forward into another life.

A large waist-high table stood next to the disko. It was not an ordinary table. The top was made of glass, or some similar substance, and it was warm. Occasionally the table clicked and hummed, as if it contained active electronics. There were no apparent knobs or other controls. Kosh left it alone.

One day Emma came into the barn and found him gazing into the disko.

“Kosh?”

He looked back at her and smiled. “Just thinking,” he said.

“Thinking about leaving?”

He shook his head. “No. Besides, we have to wait for Tucker.”

“I like it here,” Emma said.

“So do I.” Kosh was surprised to hear himself say it. He
did
like it, although he could see it would get lonely in time. But for now, just being with Emma was enough. He had resisted his attraction to her at first — it had seemed wrong. Was he falling in love with her, or did he feel that way only because she looked so much like the Emily he remembered? But as the days passed, he came to realize that Emma did not resemble Emily as much as he had thought. She was her own person. Her physical appearance came to matter less and less.

“Look,” Emma said. The disko was changing from gray to green. Kosh grabbed Emma by the hand and they backed away as the disk bulged. A blob of mist oozed from its surface. The blob morphed into a roughly humanoid shape, drifted over to the table, and hovered there.

“A Klaatu,” Emma said.

“You’ve seen them before?”

“The Klaatu are said to be the spirits of our ancestors.”

“You think it can hear us?”

The figure waved a blobby hand.

Emelyn’s voice came from behind them. “She hears you.”

Kosh and Emma turned. Emelyn was standing in the doorway. Behind her were Tucker and Lia.

“Look who’s here,” Kosh said. “The kid who blew up my barn.”

“Sorry,” Tucker said, grinning. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Kosh walked up to Tucker and held out his hand for a fist bump, then changed his mind and wrapped his arms around his nephew and squeezed, lifting him off his feet.

“
Oof
,” Tucker said. Kosh put him down and looked at Lia.

“Please do not do that to me,” she said. “I am injured.”

“I see that,” said Kosh, noting the sheath encasing her ankle.

“It’s good to see you,” Lia said.

“Likewise.” Kosh turned to Emelyn. “Thank you.”

“I don’t deserve your thanks,” said Emelyn. She crossed over to the table, reached beneath it, and activated a switch. The table’s surface emitted a bluish glow, and the Klaatu came into focus.

“Greetings,” said the Klaatu, its voice emanating from the table. “I am Iyl Rayn, and I beg your forgiveness.”

The image of Iyl Rayn was that of a woman, but it had a blobby, unfinished appearance. Most of the fine detail was missing. Her hair was an orangish cloud, her features a blurry approximation of a face, and the spotted dress she wore seemed fused to her pale flesh. Her voice, coming from speakers concealed within the table, sounded flat and artificial as well, but there was something familiar about it.

“I know you have many questions, not all of which I will be able to answer to your satisfaction. I am a Klaatu, as you know, but I was not always so. I was once a living biological person like you. I was a Pure Girl in Romelas, a teenager in Hopewell, a lover, a mother, and a madwoman.

“My name, at the time of my transcendence, was Emily Feye.”