Voyager’s Rest Ch. 06

Chapter - 6

I was quite taken by the beauty of the people of Burchan. The local population had lovely striations of red and silver running vertically over their skin. They were tall and leaner than their Prima counterparts. The land of Burchan was more a mixture of elements and the lesser percentage of pure silica in the soil made their metabolisms work all the harder to convert caloric minerals into energy and the frames of their bodies.

3Stan radiated a pleasure to be in the community of his birth again. I was happy that this adventure had afforded the opportunity for him to come back to his roots. 3Stan seemed to stand taller and walk with an easier gate than I had seen him. He had always spent most of his time in the lab during the time I knew him on Prima. I always assumed that it was a manifestation of his obsession to keep the devastation that happened to his family from happening to others. In this moment, as we made our way up the streets of Burchan, I saw another side of 3Stan. His interaction with venders, his subtle greeting to passers by had a natural ease that his demeanor never exposed while I had known him.

For my own part, I rubbed my hand over the bark of trees, feeling the texture and exploring the design. I bumped into strangers as I watched flying creatures dart and weave themselves amongst the shops and buildings. We had flying creatures built to populate Prima as well, but the differences in creativity were striking. Our designs kept the creatures closer to our own form while these were vast departures from the basic shape of a person. These creatures flew with grace, holding their altitude with tiny puffs of exhaust from their broad appendages. Prima flying animals were more like rocket powered mice, if I were to try to paint a picture for your human reference. The Brachan creatures were more akin to shimmering metallic jellyfish, as they lifted themselves from one perch to another. Once landed they would draw minerals from the walls and materials as they dug their spindly appendages into the architecture.

With my eyes to the tops of the building I walked directly into another pedestrian. I found myself off my feet looking up at a very annoyed Burchan standing above me.

"Watch where you are going, Silver Boy!" There was more anger in his stance and his expression than deserved the minor collision.

"Sorry. So sorry." I expressed my attrition as earnestly as I could. "Excuse me, but could you tell me what those air animals are called?" There was a hope that I could break his moment of frustration with some friendly small talk. Plus, I genuinely wanted more information about these flora and fauna.

The Burchan looked with continued annoyance as I stood back up, and then looked up at the animals fluttering and puffing above us. I could see in his expression that I had picked a topic which only further enflamed his agitation.

"The Misties? The scourge of the spaces above us. Likely a design pushed down upon us by you and your type."

"Misties? I assure you there is nothing like them on Prima. Our flyers operate more explosively. Very different." I couldn't help but turn back to gazing at the creatures as they floated across the empty space in the street.

"I'm sure you don't. Animals like this you send here. For what purpose the rocks and the old ones know."

"I don't know the purpose but they are very pleasing in movement and appearance, you must admit." This assertion of what he must do was a mistake in judgement on my part.

"Must I? They eat at our buildings and rain a steady mist of their own dusty excrement down on our heads and I, 'must' appreciate how lovely they are? Good day to you sir."

Off he went down the street without any opportunity for me to react. There were half a dozen steps between us before I could muster a quiet, "I'm sorry."

Looking up the street I saw 3Stan standing next to a cart and talking with casual ease to the vendor. They both saw me approach and I was happy to be welcomed with more warmth than in my last exchange.

"That didn't seem to go well." 3Stan smiled seeming to be enjoying my discomfort. "This is 9Rol." I looked over to the vendor and nodded in greetings.

"9Roller-87 at your service my good Prima citizen." 9Rol beamed with genuine appreciation with his greeting. His entire success of his business and demeanor seemed dependent on his ability to address every stranger as friend. The honesty of his expression made me believe that his joyful greeting came from his core and not simply out of financial interest.

"9Rol sells a delicacy of Burchan. I'm excited to share it with you if you have the courage for it." There was happiness and friendship in 3Stan's expression even as there was something in his tone that I could tell was intended to hide something from me.

Quizzical as I am, I was eager to know the secret and while at the same time a little bit of dread built in my center. The heat in my metabolic stone felt a little colder as I looked over at 9Rol and he seemed to have the same secret in his eyes as 3Stan. I was the outsider and initiate. There was very little I could do but to play along.

"Um. Of course. What is it he's selling?"

"Sustinance." 9Rol interjected handing me a oval object. His eyes excited by the prospect of the Prima initiate to imbibe his offering.

I took the object and recognized the shape as a mobile nugget of minerals intended to replenish our bodies metabolic needs. On Prima they were often expensive and offered as pure silicon supplements if soil in an area a person was drawing from wasn't nutritionally sufficient.

This object had the shape of a mineral pod but certainly didn't have the cool blue color I associated with the supplements I had experienced back home.

"What is it?" I felt like I had asked this question already. My anxiety was beginning to burn cold in my chest. I knew what it was, but part of me couldn't accept that my friend and colleague would offer me such a thing and attempt to call it a gift.

It was dark red, as so much of this land was, tinted by the materials that could be found in abundance. Cinnabar and Vanadinite were primary minerals in the soils and rocks and as a result they permeated the materials that built every engineered plant, animal and person on Burchan.

There were faint, thin stripes of silica speckled within the rounded block of material but so little it seemed foolish to even attempt to absorb it into myself. It actually looked to my eyes as mostly poison with a scrap or two of nutrients as a pretense. The idea of taking any of this material into myself created a dizzy sensation of panic.

"Put it against your chest, just above your metabolic stone." 3Stan said, demonstrating with his own contaminated pod ready to be consumed.

"I know how to consume a nutrient pod 3!" I said with a little more frustration and panicked discomfort in my voice than I intended.

3Stan didn't seem to react to my outburst; he simply continued to soothe me into this act of madness. "Put it to your chest and let your body sift the impurities. They'll course through the system and percolate out."

3Stan put the pod to his chest and I watched it dissolve against his skin. There was a dark bruise of deep red that spread over him and dribbled down his body as if he was made entirely of pins for the impurities to bounce upon. His life gem grew bright as I could see his body heating itself in fever to expel the contamination. There seemed to be a fiery glow to the entire honeycomb of his frame as his eyes closed in what I could only assume was pain. Why would anyone voluntarily put themselves through such an ordeal?

"Ok." 3Stan looked at me with an intensity of emotion as his body struggled through the processing of this poison pill. "Your turn." Then he smiled as if it had all been worth it. His offer, I could see it in his eyes, was a gift meant to be an honor. I was still cold with fright that I was about to die.

9Rol beckoned me onward as he pushed the large pill of material to my chest. I locked eyes with 3Stan and he held my gaze as I put the pod to my chest. The pod was cool and my skin was hot with anticipation. The contrast made it hard to force myself to let the material into my body. Humans might recognize the gag reflex as analogous. I forced my body to open to what I would otherwise regard as refuse into my body. There was a struggle between my choices as a thinking creature to do something counter to my health and the inner workings of my body itself. These inner workings conspired to betray my friendship and 3Stan's gift as my skin and inner biology revolted against the commands of my mind.

After a moment of concern, I felt my wishes as a person take control of my bodies misgivings and the red capsule was drawn into my matrix. It burned and I winced in pain even as I kept my gaze upon 3Stan. I was distracted by his calmness. There was true affection in his expression. My equilibrium seemed to be unsettled as I continued to process the material, but I couldn't be certain it was fully the fault of the indigestible material passing through me. 3Stan. There was care in his eyes that I had not seen before. There was connection between us that I only now in my misery did I recognize.

There was a cold flush to my frame and a bright heat coming from my metabolic core. It was overheating to help break down the contamination I had just taken in. There were elements of silicon within the pill as well. They bounced around my body touching nodes of myself with cool comfort. I had never felt the intense pleasure of silica refueling my lattice in the way that I did in that moment. I felt each ribbon of pure body healing material attached where it was needed. With each small piece of substance finding its place I felt the smile I was sharing with 3Stan grow brighter and our connection deepen as his hand gripped mine.

"That... Was... Terrible" I finally said with a sense of exhilaration. 3Stan and 9Rol burst into laughter.

"Yes! You survived your first Burc!" 3Stan exclaimed with pure joy. He grabbed my shoulders and we shared a moment together that was different than any I had shared before. I didn't understand it at the time, but it was joyful in the moment.

"It was touch and go there for a moment. I thought the poor thing was going to purge himself of everything in him." 9Rol continued to chuckle.

My chest crystal continued to burn hot for the rest of the day. The lattice that makes up my body ached as if I had weakened it without good reason but outer dermis glowed with a sensation I had not experienced before. I attributed it to the reaction to the Burc at the time but the world is always easier to understand when you play events backward in your mind.

"That will be 6 grams for the 2, yes?" 9Rol looked at us expectantly.

"Of course." 3Stan brought his elbow up to meet 9Rol who did the same and they touched.

Blue silica dissolved from 3Stan and bled into 9Rol's extended arm. The cost of the offering of Burc we had been given. 3Stan looked back at me, "My treat. You can buy the next round." I felt certain in the moment, as my body still felt ill from the interaction, that there would never be another, 'next round'. Unfortunately, there never was.

3Stan and I bade our good bye's and continued on toward the observatory. It was a complex run by the Prima authority. The silhouette was impressive as it stood on the highest rise of land. From the perspective of the people of Burchan the observatory was as much a symbol of oppression as it was for science and the expansion of knowledge. Prima had all the resources needed to build science stations on every continent. Meanwhile, the people of Burchan ingested the indigestible and called it a rite of passage and cultural delicacy. It was very difficult to detect directly as I walked down the streets of Burchan, but the resentment was easy to feel.

++++

Looking at events through a lens of knowledge that comes from time having passed lets us understand how quickly things can find themselves out of control. 3Stan was more worldly and experienced but in many ways we were naive together in hope and excitement as we plunged ourselves into the adventure of discovery.

We should have guessed that 10Ant would radio ahead to the observatory on Burchan. We should have known that he would have left orders to report whatever findings we happen to discover. More importantly, we should have known that any action we took to uncover the truth would need to fit with the status quo. Any discovery that threatened the system which had so benefitted Prima would be met with resistance.

Had I known, looking back on it now, I wouldn't have had the strength to go forward. I was blessed with bliss through ignorance as all that has happened took place without my full consent. Each decision was forced by circumstance. Each sacrifice was made out of necessity to who we were and who we wanted our lives to add up to.

++++

When 3Stan and I reached the observatory we were greeted warmly by the custodians. They were quite friendly and had a comical way of finishing each other's sentences that I found charming and 3Stan found annoying.

We showed them the trajectory of the anomaly and they were quick to dismiss the bold and explosive theories of artifacts from beyond the void.

"We see things like this all the time here. Tracked, in fact, 326."

"Anomolus objects that seem to be outside the average density." 4Card started the sentence, 4Jum finished it.

"Average, can mean a lot of different things, depending on context." 3Stan responded with irritation.

"2 quartiles deviation from the mathematical mean average. Math does not have..."

"A context bias." finished 4Jum.

"Well, fine. You're correct. You both are correct. This is likely just an odd piece of floating debris that we got our imaginations fired up over. Still, maybe we just should take a look. Since we came all this way.

The two technicians looked at each other with concession that looking through the telescope at the actual object would eventually be necessary.

Pivoting the telescope into place required geared mechanisms for precise alignment on the target of our interest. I watched as the two technicians maneuvered the angle of the scope. They were clearly skilled at the use and care of the device. The two of them had come to the science services from different families with different backgrounds. Both were the fourth born and both had a passion for mathematical precision. The time working together had lent them to a synchronicity that few in our world would be able to share.

As they worked I looked over our own measurements and observations using the holographic map we created on Prima. 4Jum and 4Card were so in sync. They had spoken earlier at their amazement and appreciation for the clock like perfection of physics and the movement of objects in space. Given all of that I began to wonder with deep concern why the two of them seemed to be pointing the telescope in the wrong direction.

"What are you doing?" I didn't ask with a tone of alarm or concern. I did my best to project curiosity and nothing more.

"Calebrating the observatory to capture the anomaly." The two of them said in unison.

"Stop." I put my hand over the wrist of 4Jum as he was dialing in the angle of the telescope. "This isn't the right angle. I think you know it isn't."

"What's going on?" 3Stan asked, startled by my physical intervention with 4Jum.

"They're not aligning the scope with the anomaly. They know better and they aren't." I shouted now. It was a pure allegation.

"What would happen if your fantasy was born out to be true?" Asked 4Card as he slowly walked closer to me. "It is likely a basic anomaly, but what if it wasn't. What are you risking in this activity?" He was calm, focused and certain about his actions.

"We risk? We risk adding to our understanding. That is what science is. This is what math does. Or are you willing to abandon your numbers-driven world for something with more 'context bias'?" 3Stan starts moving between 4Card and the scope.

"Context? You are from Burchan are you not? This one blip on your map could disable Burchan's compliance with Prima..."

"and put in jeopardy all that live here." I hear 4Jum complete the thought next to me.

It dawns on me what is happening, "If our anomaly turned out to be an artifact." I ask, looking into the smug face of 4Jum.

"You've already looked at it. You know what it is." 3Stan speaking to 4Card.

"Yes. We've seen it. Yes. It has shape. Manufactured shape." 4Card keeps moving forward towards 3Chan.

4Jum pushes me back and away from the telescope.

"It is a piece of our history." I cry out again with disbelief that anyone would suppress truth over a lie, especially someone who calls themself a scientist.

"We don't know all the answers. It is something. Many things don't make sense, it is true. But it will soon not matter." The two of them are now blocking the scope from us. We would have to fight them for access.

"Why won't it matter? We'll bring this to the council. We'll make a direct appeal to the public. People will want to know." I'm shivering with energy and heat in the moment and from the Bruc that I consumed earlier. I needed to see. I needed to see for myself and the window was closing as we stood there in a standoff.

"We've crunched the data..."

"We have a certain trajectory now." The two technicians share their speech and their menace.

"The artifact will fall..."

"This is its last orbit."

"Gravity at Yardan will pull it into a tight parabola..."

"The rocks of Kalut will cause the collision and all there will be left is more dust." The two of them only seem of one mind and happy to have thwarted our chance at the truth.

"Get out of our way!" Shouted 3Stan. His sheer volume of brightness washed the room with the patterns of his voice and the two technicians took a defensive step back.

The stutter step hesitation of our adversaries was enough for 3Stan to charge forward. There was a sinking ache in my metabolic crystal but after my own stuttering step of uncertainty I charged forward behind my friend and into battle.