Of a Note in a Cosmic Song; Part Three Read online

  © Nōnen Títi 2014

  All rights reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This edition (2nd) published in New Zealand in 2014 by Nōnen Títi

  First Published in 2010

  ISBN 978-0-9941077-0-1 (print)

  ISBN 978-0-9922537-8-3 (EPUB)

  ISBN 978-0-9922537-9-0 (Kindle)

  Printed and bound in New Zealand by The Copy Press, Nelson

  Cover design by Neil Smith

  Ebook production 2014 by meBooks

  For Lianna, because a writer is nothing without an editor.

  Kun DJar

  Front Cover

  Title page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  A Giant Step

  Hopes and Dreams

  Poor Communication

  Prefabs and Fuel Tanks

  A Little Comfort

  A Really Crazy Question

  A Bit of Trade

  Battles with Rocks and Bacteria

  Gut Feelings

  Some Respect

  In the Eye of the Storm

  Organizing Chaos

  Be Afraid and Carry On

  Somebody's Child

  Get Up and Start Over

  Story Telling

  A Web of Secrets

  Hopeless Predictability

  Still Captain

  To See Justice Done

  Spilling the Beans

  No Way to Conduct a Trial

  Losing Perspective

  Evil Eyes

  A Swarm of Angry Bees

  Sugar High

  A Bit of Normality

  Line of Defence

  A Past and a Present

  Nightmares and Daydreams

  Immobilized

  Helpless

  Burning Issues

  CALENDAR

  1 moon/kor on SJilai = 8 days; 4 moons per station

  1 kor on Kun DJar = 6 days; 5 kor per moon; 5 moons per station

  Orbit was established on the last day of the fourth SJilai year. The next day is both the first day of the first kor in the first moon of the first station of Kun DJar’s first year (1/1/1/1/1) and the first day of the first moon of the first station of the fifth SJilai year (1/1/1/5) and from there the dates are calculated.

  THE PEOPLE

  The colony started with about a mas (8192) of people, half of whom were users (convicts). During the journey all social class distinctions (creator, maker, activator, and worker) were abolished.

  SJilai’s journey was 4 × 256 days =1024 days, which is about 3.4 DJar years.

  Thus, by the time they reach orbit around Kun DJar, most people have aged about three and a half years since leaving DJar.

  The first four stations on Kun DJar (from reaching orbit) equal two DJar years, if counting days, but since the days are half as long, the physical age-increase for each person is only one (DJar) year. The numbers given below reflect the approximate age ranges in DJar time (which are comparable to Earth ages in maturity) during the parts of the story.

  AGES

  NAME INDEX

  If followed by “(DJar)” this person stayed behind and is not a colonist.

  Anni, Daili’s elder daughter (DJar)

  Anoyak, boy in children’s home

  Aryan, chief pilot

  Benjamar, retired judge

  Branag, Kunag’s father, engineer

  Brita, Hani’s mother (DJar)

  Daili, djarologist

  Doret, son of Kolyag & Elsa

  Elsa, Kolyag’s comate

  Emi, Leni’s daughter

  Erwin, sea captain & fisherman

  Feya, chief engineer

  Flori, nurse

  Frantag, colony leader

  Frimon, religious leader

  Gabi, pilot

  Gina, Nini’s roommate on SJilai

  Hani, Daili’s adopted daughter

  Harmon, Markag’s son

  Haslag, man from Habitat Three

  Heddo, pilot

  Ilse, Kolyag & Elsa’s adopted daughter

  Irma, doctor

  Jari, Kunag’s sister

  Jema, teacher & children’s home carer

  Jenet, marine biologist

  Jitsi, Benjamar’s granddaughter (SJilai)

  Kala, nurse

  Kalgar, colony leader

  Kalim, meteorologist

  Kamaron, child in Closed House (DJar)

  Kaspi, Jema’s best friend (DJar)

  Kintji, botanist

  Kiren, carer in children’s home

  Kisya, Leni’s adopted daughter

  Kityag, Jema’s comate (DJar)

  Klara, child in Closed House (DJar)

  Kolyag, cattle farmer

  Kristag, Wilam & Pina’s baby son

  Kunag, illustrator

  Laytji, Daili’s younger daughter

  Leni, a Society member

  Leyon, young man from Habitat Three

  Lisa, chief astronomer

  Lokit, Daili’s apprentice

  Maike, chief of security

  Manno, pathologist

  Marita, Daili’s sister (DJar)

  Markag, president (DJar)

  Marya, Nini’s new roommate

  Mektar, natural healer (DJar)

  Nini, nurse

  Nori, child in Closed House (DJar)

  Ottag, apprentice pilot

  Petar, pilot

  Pina, Wilam’s comate & Kristag’s mother

  Remag, zoologist

  Remko, nurse

  Roilan, member of SJilai government

  Rorag, Frimon’s son

  Sarika, Kun DJar child

  Saski, girl in children’s home

  Sinti, Kunag’s new girlfriend on SJilai

  Sisi, pilot

  Skawag, Benjamar’s son (DJar)

  Sunya, Daili’s apprentice

  Tarin, Nini’s friend

  Thalo, man from Habitat Three

  Tigor, crop farmer

  Tikot, Kalim’s adopted son

  Tini, Kunag’s mother, architect

  Tiya, carer in children’s home

  Ulli, pilot

  Wana, nurse

  Wentar, agriculturalist

  Wilam, crop farmer

  Wolt, journalist

  Yako, man from Habitat Three

  MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES AND CELESTIAL BODIES

  Agjar, the moon of DJar

  AR, the mythological creator, father of all celestial bodies and comate of OT

  Bijar, the star around which DJar orbits

  Bue, the big star, around which both the Kun and the Bijar system orbit

  Kelot, mythological wife of Kun, represented by Kun DJar

  Kun, the star around which Kun DJar orbits

  Kuntji and Kunag, the moons of Kun DJar

  OT, the mythological ‘mother of all mothers’, whose essence was split into OT and SJari

  SJano and SJibi, two gas giants in orbit around Bue

  SJilai (“destiny”), the spacekabin that brought the colonists from DJar to Kun DJar

  A Giant Step

  On Aryan’s command, SJilai released the first of its eight landers. As soon as he fired the small engine to gain the speed of lower orbit, the fledgling machine was under its own wing power; it felt beautiful.

  Below, their perpetually-cloud-covered new home had four landmasses and an awful lot
more water than DJar had. According to Daili, that was because Kun DJar was just a bit bigger.

  After orbiting twice, Aryan fired the burn to direct the little lander to the surface. The scientific babble of the four kor of people in the kabin behind him ceased once they entered the atmosphere. Now at the mercy of the lander, absolutely nothing could be done. It became difficult to focus on the controls, but it didn’t feel that much different than on DJar. They had calculated six minutes.

  Quiet returned as masses of clouds moved below them; normal-looking clouds. The panel in front of Aryan confirmed that they were made of water. Nitrogen and oxygen levels were within admissible range. The outside temperature was down; the heat shields had worked fine.

  Aryan initiated slow-down the way he had a mas of times on DJar: The lander responded without fail. As the cloud cover disappeared from view there was water; one big, red mass of Kun DJar ocean with no land in sight. The astronomers had better have their coordinates right, because landing this baby in the middle of an ocean that size would be like asking a mouse to swim the Brilliant Sea; they’d get to the bottom long before reaching any shore.

  It took eight more minutes before he saw land; Lisa’s directions were spot-on. Aryan employed the airbag to stop forward thrust. His heart rate was up and running, drops of perspiration dribbling from his forehead at the rate the Kun DJar water ran down the windshield. There were very few experiences in life that could excite him like this, and spaceflight came second only to Maike.

  No larger than a birdwing, now having downward motion only, the little lander gently hovered above the ground. The land below them was as grey as the ocean was red, and featureless. Their first contact with Kun DJar was almost undetectable when the cushion puffed its air from the bag.

  Gabi, next to him, grinned: They’d done it. As if a routine DJar space mission, they proceeded with the required checks before Aryan informed his passengers. “We’re on the surface of Kun DJar and she looks… eh… well, how shall we say it? Dead.”

  Gabi repeated that message on the speaker to SJilai. It wasn’t so much the desolate land as the purple-pink haze of the sky that caused the eerie feeling; as if the land was burned dry.

  The small opening to the kabin’s main room revealed Kalgar. “It was my impression that pilots are supposed to make a spirit-boosting announcement when first touching down on a new place.”

  Aryan pointed out the window. “See for yourself.”

  “Just as I expected it would be,” Kalgar said, undeterred. He was in charge now; breathing equipment had to be tested and samples of the outdoor atmosphere checked before Aryan was given the okay to depressurize the kabin. The difference became obvious right away. Aryan heaved, in an effort to breathe, as though there was a heavy weight resting on his chest. His first reaction was to reach for his oxygen mask, but the levels were within normal range. “It’s the pressure,” Kalim whispered. “Let your body adjust.”

  Aryan wanted to ask if that was even possible, but the effort of talking was too much. It was strange to have this many people together without any of them speaking.

  “We can reset the kabin pressure; let it slowly change to match the outside conditions,” Branag suggested.

  The moment Aryan did so, relief was instantaneous; voices restarted and people began laughing. “I wish you’d thought of that before,” Aryan said.

  “This quick change back was probably more dangerous than the first time,” Jenet said, with a glare at Aryan.

  “You should have spoken up then.”

  “It’s too late to worry about it now, we’ll see what happens,” Kalgar said.

  After sixteen tense and silent minutes of waiting, nothing had happened.

  “Well, that’s a relief. We could have all been dead by now,” Jenet said, and explained to his creator audience that this quick change in pressure could form air bubbles in a person’s body. A look from Kalgar told Aryan not to respond.

  “Is this going to work, this slow adjustment?” he asked Branag.

  “It may take a while, but yes.”

  “So now what?” Aryan asked.

  “Now we wait.”

  “Great.” They had finally landed on their new home, only to have to sit and wait. Yet, really, it was the only thing he wanted to do.

  Every half hour Aryan changed the atmospheric pressure inside the kabin, during which his passengers discussed survival.

  “It looks totally arid, like Agjar. Even if our bodies manage, how can we live here?” Kunag asked. He was the youngest of the group, having come with his father to make some drawings for the bulletin, but it didn’t look like there was much worth the paper.

  Kalgar explained that this was one of the south pole continents. They had known beforehand that it was barren, but since it was facing Kun it had daylight for the entire period they were on the surface. There was another continent that looked much the same. On the north pole was a third and much bigger piece of land, but that was steeped in darkness. The hopes of the colonists were on the equatorial continent, which was at least three times the size of this one and wetter. From SJilai’s scans they knew it had rivers, lakes, and vegetation. However, due to the fast rotation of the planet it currently had less than four hours of light per day, which wasn’t much to work in. They would explore that continent next if there were no problems here. “As you have noticed, we’ll have to be patient with our bodies. It’s one thing to know we can live here, but another to actually feel it.”

  When Aryan adjusted the pressure for the last time, so it once again matched the outside environment, Kalgar opened the kabin door manually to go down the steps. One by one, the others followed him onto Kun DJar soil.

  Aryan went last. He didn’t want to miss out on this first encounter, but he felt heavy, slow, and very tired. A few boulders were spread around not too far from the lander, and he just wanted to sit down… But what on DJar would have taken two fractions to reach seemed an eternity away. Fearing it might not hold his increased weight, Aryan leaned on the rock before turning to sit. In front of him the land was bare but for the struggling people.

  Gabi, who had followed him, was moving her mouth, but Aryan couldn’t hear what she said. The landscape itself was formless, grey, and still, as if sound didn’t exist. Was that possible? The air had a strange light-pink colour. Even the people were shapes on a silent screen, their gestures in slow motion. Had it not been such an effort to breathe, Aryan would have laughed at their antics.

  The high-pitched noise of Kalgar’s whistle also seemed to drag. Kalgar motioned for them to get back into the kabin. With strained effort, anticipating his new weight, Aryan pushed against the boulder… pushed too hard, lost his balance and tumbled face down into the soil. The hand he extended to catch his fall had moved too slow to get there in time.

  Gabi’s hand helped him back up. She didn’t laugh at him, but then he had to grin himself; some sight that must have been. It took a year to get back to the lander.

  “Are you okay?” Gabi asked when the sound was back to normal.

  “As good as you are, no doubt.”

  After a drink and a rest they wanted to try a short exploration walk, but Aryan stayed behind with Gabi and two technicians to check the lander, top to bottom, inside and out.

  It was a little easier to leave the kabin this time, but the silence still struck Aryan. It seemed to come from beyond; nothing moved. A motionless, red cloud hung high in the sky over the lander site. “Blood red!” he exclaimed.

  “It’s watching us,” one of the technicians said.

  “How can a cloud be watching?”

  “Maybe it’s not a cloud. Maybe it’s an animal or something,” Gabi suggested.

  “An animal hanging still in the sky?”

  “I don’t know, but it gives me the creeps.”

  They could not very well stand there watching it, so they went on with the checks, aware of its presence, every movement slow and stopping every few minutes for air.

&n
bsp; After an hour, they had found nothing obviously wrong with the lander. Exhausted, Aryan sat down on the ground to wait for the explorers, who were approaching slowly. He let his hand toy with the layer of dry sand, which was cold and thick. Gabi was questioning the power of the small engine to blast them back up through this atmosphere, her voice slightly out of tune. As he listened, Aryan picked up a third handful of sand – even that was heavy. It had just started slipping through his fingers when a black shape leaped out at him. He gasped, pulled back, and fell down. Eyes on the blob, he scrambled up, faster than he’d moved so far, but still way too slow. His heart raced and the hairs on his arms stood at attention.

  “It’s alive,” Gabi said, crawling closer. “Look Aryan, it’s moving.”

  Aryan couldn’t not look. A fraction later he noticed a similar black shape behind her. He wasn’t quite sure if his words came out the way he meant them, but she did get up when he pointed.

  “Animals,” Gabi told Kalgar when the others came close. “They look like animals.”

  Actually they looked like three-dimensional blotches of ink, each the size of a nut. Kalgar made it a point to caution everybody not to touch what they didn’t know. Aryan went to sit inside the safety of the lander and waited for his heart rate to slow down. The others followed not long after.

  When each of them had a foodbar, Kalgar wanted initial reports. “First the lander: Aryan, are we going to be able to return or are we stranded?”

  “Sorry, but this beauty won’t ever go up again. We’ll have to take a seakabin to the other continent.” Gabi started giggling and ruined his joke, so he gave up. “We’re fine as long as the power of the boost will lift us: The kabin’s structural integrity hasn’t suffered and the systems are intact. Of course, this was only a first check; we’ll need another day to go over all the details.”

  Branag was equally confident about the equipment, but the reports of the others were less hopeful: The black blobs may be animals, or they may not be. They seemed to be all that moved, so far.