Post 12
Now that Robert had opened himself to his love for Cherine, he could not rest, a foreboding filled his thoughts days and nights, as if something deep within himself was impotently trying to send him a warning.
Cherine had never divulged that she had learnt how to prevent her healer from affecting the land, for she had thought of it as a negative option and had not seen any benefit in teaching others. She walked to the north of the city, instead of the usual east direction, crossed the wilderness and entered the barren lands. She saw, far off to the right of her, signs of POL agents working so she kept to low ground whenever she could.
The rising sun was already promising a scorching day and she was covered in perspiration. “Why do you not allow me to help you? Your mind has the gifts you need. It would be faster to fly where you wish to go.”
“I don’t know where I’m going, I mean I have no destination. I have to find somewhere safe and out of the sun for me to hide while we go to the void.”
“You have instincts for that, they are dampened by your mind, would you like me to show you how to use them?”
“Ntchizi, the more I change, the less I will be part of my people. Not yet, for now I’d rather just keep walking.”
Two hours later she gave in and took another sip of her fast dwindling water. She could feel the sun heating the top of her head and she needed to find shade. Her healer was concerned and she was having to expend far too much energy and concentration on controlling it. “Is there any way I can keep the sun off me?”
“Ask your healer to make your body more efficient at ridding itself of excess heat.”
“I can’t do that Ntchizi, I will sweat faster and run out of water.”
“Then call to the water you need. Cherine, your body is like the plants, it needs water to live.”
“They’ll find me if I do, we’re not out of range yet.”
“A flying ship is coming, lie down, I’ll hide you.”
She did so and watched as the jet flew past. “They’ll have heat seeking equipment, they’ll find me.”
“I placed a curtain of energy over you, they will not. Perhaps I was wrong to do so, this trip is foolishness, you’ll die.”
“Teach me to fly.”
“Join me.”
She still found Ntchizi a strangely compelling soul, her beauty drawing her to share motes. She watched as Ntchizi worked at the interface of her mind and then she was shown a gift. It was not the one she’d asked for, but she saw it would serve her. *I am sorry Cherine, I do not recognise a…flying potential.*
Cherine sat up and focussing on her new gift she surrounded herself with a bubble of energy that slowly darkened so that the sun did not seem to beat down on her as powerfully and the air surrounding her cooled. It used energy so she would not be able to use it all day but it would provide relief whenever she approached the end of her endurance. Her spirits revived and she walked with more confidence.
“You can use this energy as a shield should you be attacked.”
“What if the attacker has a weapon, could it stop a bullet?”
“You will need to practice to strengthen it before it can do that.”
She shrugged. “Nobody is going to shoot at me, it’s not worth it.”
By evening her water bottle was empty so she found it difficult to chew and swallow the dry biscuits. She packed them away and lay down. “Let’s go to the void, we have to try to send your message.” She relaxed herself in preparation and fell asleep. Ntchizi was careful not to waken her and spent the night searching the surrounding land with her senses.
Cherine awoke feeling rueful, but Ntchizi laughed, telling her a few days would not make a difference to her.
Cherine began walking before dawn as she feared the sun would weaken her too quickly. When the sun was high overhead, Ntchizi asked her to turn and then turn again and like a robot Cherine obeyed, barely conscious of anything but her thirst and need to keep moving. She stumbled when the land changed, but Ntchizi told her to climb down the eroded embankment. With the sun close to noon there was no shade but Ntchizi ordered her to sit by a greyish pool of pebbles. When her attention was drawn to a sparkling it took her a moment to realise the pebbles were growing damp. She put one in her mouth
and sucked on it. While she sucked at the damp pebbles, water rose till she was able to lean over and placing her lips over the surface she sucked until her thirst was satiated and the healer urgently sent the moisture to replenish the needs of her cells, so that she had to drink again and again.
“How is it that you survived as a species when your bodies are so ill-suited to your environment?”
“I’m too tired to think Ntchizi.”
“Allow me to show your body how to adapt and become efficient.”
“No.” She curled up on the side where shade was growing and fell asleep.
Cherine ate some biscuits and sipped at the water as she spoke. “I don’t see how we can send a message. I know you can turn the satellite but how will you record your message without a body? The equipment of the old ones do not record telepathic speech.”
“I was there Cherine, I lived with them at the time they built the satellites, I know it cannot. What it can do is send a steady beam of noise. I can affect the noise so that my people understand it is a message. My biggest worry is that the beam will not be strong enough to reach our world.”
“Have you ever been to the void?”
“We have no knowledge of it.”
“Let me try to call a star being to us, if I can’t, then I can try to take you to the void.”
The star beings do not enjoy entering the atmosphere of a material world and they have to expend considerable energy to make themselves visible, but they’d discovered they could draw energy from Cherine, so they answered her. Cherine felt the excitement of Ntchizi, for here was something new she’d never seen before. She listened as Cherine introduced her and then concentrated on sending a mental message. The beings of light replied, welcoming her. Cherine explained about Ntchizi and their need to send a message. They need to travel to the satellite, but it is only Ntchizi who has enough mental powers to turn it. Could they help them if they come to the void or could they take their souls directly?
They asked whether they can leave their body. Cherine could not, but Ntchizi did so. They carried her to the satellite and she spent the time she had there examining the equipment and reasoning out how it worked (Cherine had already read all she could find on the internet, so she had a fairly good idea of the basics).
“They will return tomorrow night when you call them and I will turn the satellite and send my message.”
They stayed where they were since Cherine had food and water was still rising to the surface. The next day she ate her last biscuits. “I hope we succeed or else I’ll have to go hungry tomorrow.”
“Why don’t you call to a bird, it’s body would nourish you.” Cherine recoiled from the idea of trying to kill a bird. “It is not good that you abnegate your evolution Cherine, you are a life-taker and need to feed your body.” Cherine refused her, so Ntchizi turned her thoughts to her memories, to allow Cherine some privacy.
On the third evening Ntchizi turned the satellite and sent her message. She allowed the light beings to sense her belief that the signal was too weak and when they left her it was obvious they were still concerned. An hour later they returned, startling Cherine. “If Ntchizi can lead us to her planet from the void, we can take her soul there.”
“You will bring her back? Ntchizi, you will return?”
“I would not leave my empty body within you Cherine, I shall return - if they are able to take me.”
“Will you be able to communicate with your people?”
“We are all telepathic, I do not need my body to speak to them. Cherine, to see my world again! Thank you.”
By the time Ntchizi returned, four days later, Cherine was too weakened from lack of food to walk in the heat. Ntchizi blamed herself for her selfishness and tried to find a solution. As far as she cast her mind she could sense nothing but the poisoned land. There was only one option left to her, but she feared Cherine would not agree. “Will you sleep and allow me to take over your body? It will only be for a short time.”
“You want to change me. No.”
“You will not be changed, it is just that my mind is more powerful than yours. If you do not trust me then I have no choice. Cherine, we have not found an ants nest, when you die I will come with you.”
“That’s blackmail!” She had to concede that Ntchizi had no other option so she nodded. “All I have to do is fall asleep?”
When she woke up she stared about her for a second before recognising where she was. With a groan she came to her feet and going to the kitchen drank cold water and then ate whatever was handy and did not require cooking. She sensed Ntchizi had withdrawn into her memories so she was careful in her thinking so as not to disturb her friend.
She found a note from Arthur.
Cherine,
I am hoping you’ll return home whenever you are in need of respite or provisions. Your home is not being watched and will only be visited once a month to replenish whatever is missing. Please do not hesitate to leave a note or e-mail me if you wish certain items to be added to your stores. I did not forget your favourite sweets.
My little love, I do not ask that you leave me news, seeing that you have been home will be all the relief I require.
Robert arrived filled with determination to strike out in search of you. I had to show him your last note and I convinced him to wait for your return. He is not good company for he is very angry with himself. I think your dream is coming true for you my little love.
Arthur
“What distresses you my Cherine, have you not carried this moment as a dream within you for years? I have seen it in you.”
“I cannot believe it Ntchizi, I can’t. How will I ever know it is true, he is a boxee and I am blocked.”
“Have you asked yourself how will he know it is true of you?” Cherine could have sworn Ntchizi sighed. “How many ills, how much pain and suffering has been caused by the fear of believing in love. Rest my Cherine, let me talk to you of the old ones.”
Cherine had not intended sleeping in the mansion, but she stayed there for two nights. During the morning of the third she searched the stores and gathered what she could carry. She saw a note attached to a small, tightly wrapped parcel of silvery grey explaining
that spreading it out overnight would capture moisture from the air and funnel it into any container beneath it. She added it to her parcel and looked around, filling her eyes with the sight of a place she loves.
“Why do you wish to continue, let us return to your Robert.”
“The world is not dead Ntchizi, we are not the only oasis of life. I must search out the truth, something warns me there is danger if we ignore the lands past the barren lands. Soon they will not buffer us anymore as it is brought back to life and others will covet what we have. I must go before Robert is by my side, I will not take him into danger.”
Three days later Cherine studied a map while waiting for condensation to provide her with enough water to slake her thirst and refill her bottle. “To the east is the desert town where I found you. There is little point in taking that route. I’m thinking of reaching the hills and then following them. See, the map shows the hills circling the desert; if there is life, it will be in the hills or behind them, not down in the desert.” She carefully folded the map and put it in a plastic wrap. “Why are you keeping secrets from me Ntchizi? I have waited for you to tell me of your return to your people.”
“There is sickness in our world, I do not know whether they will be able to send a ship for me.” Cherine felt her grief spill through her like drops of heavy silver mercury.
“Sickness? What kind?”
“It does not affect us directly Cherine. As you know, our species is symbiotic, we need the Fiuremm for us to have bodies that can build and enjoy all the senses of life. For the Fiuremm we provide the joy of knowing themselves so that their lives are greater and richer than they would have been without us. The Fiuremm are dying. I am told a dust cloud now lies between our sun and planet. I was told it will take thousands of years for the cloud to pass. I could not see it, but I saw the results, they do not have long to live Cherine. Within a few hundred years the Fiuremm will be extinct and my people will release their life energy. We are not suited to living without companions.”
“With your mental gifts, you cannot rid your world of the dust cloud?”
“We are not that strong Cherine, the cloud covers the entire galactic spiral our system is in. What minds could affect something so large?”
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