XIII
Explaining My Idea
(Day 109 on Tashoo)
(Morning)
It seems to me that every time I have a nightmare, there is some stress in my life right after the nightmare. The fact that almost every day is stressful seems to be irrelevant. The nightmares seem to occur when an especially stressful day happens. The stress can be anything from my trial yesterday to meeting someone new such as the day I met Ka' Mu-Naka. The nightmares seem to be a harbinger of the stress that I experience the next day. Needless to say, I am having another of my nightmares.
In my dream, once again I am in the company of Tyarza. We are walking along a beach holding hands. Her long blue-blond hair, which reaches down to the middle of her back, is blowing in the wind and her yellow-in-blue eyes are sparkling and looking at me. She is smiling and her perfectly straight teeth show through lips which are slightly darker than her lion yellow skin. Her skin color does not seem to be from the sun, but her natural skin tone. She is wearing the leather one-piece dress-like article of clothing that all the females of Tashoo wear. It reaches from just below her arms to about halfway down her thighs. The sides are held together by a leather string on either side that crisscrosses down her sides which makes the dress form-fitting. Hers are drawn tight enough to show that she’s female but not so tight as to be obscenely tight.
We stop and look out over the ocean. I slip my arm around her waist and gently pull her to my side. As our sides touch, she reciprocates, putting her arm around my waist and snuggling against me. After a few athata, she moves in front of me and slips her arms around my neck, and pulls my face close to hers. Looking into those yellow-in-blue eyes captivates me completely. I can see her lips moving, but I can't hear a word she is saying. She stands on her tiptoes and presses her lips against mine in a gentle loving kiss. After the kiss, she lays her head on my shoulder and sighs gently.
Unexpectedly, the sky begins clouding over. The clouds become thicker and thicker until Tyarza and I are completely engulfed by the clouds. As she is engulfed by the clouds, I see words forming on her lips. “Mvilu. I love you. Please keep your promise. Protect me and take me back to my home.”
**********
As she fades away, Tyarza is replaced by the dinosaurians from previous nightmares, the Khorcha. Is this the way it is to be? Am I to always have the dream/nightmare in this manner? Do I always have to have a pleasant dream followed by a terrible nightmare?
The female Khorcha, Rokshesan, is speaking, but what she says bothers me, “No, that can’t happen. When the machine was first invented on Khorcha, many there feared just such a thing happening. They made their fears known to the Zahr-Khohr and he decreed that this machine must never interfere with the normal functioning of the brain of any species on which it may be used.”
There is something about this statement that bothers me. I am thinking to myself, “Why would the Zahr-Khohr be concerned with the fears of the general population about anything that might have military usage?” However, I decide to keep this thought to myself. Perhaps it is a bit of racial prejudice that causes this thought to cross my mind. However, I say to Dreydos, “Would you mind easing the fears of a simple human?”
“How can I do that?”
“Show me how the machine works.”
“Of course. I would be happy to do that. But, who shall we use as the subject?”
“How about using Rokshesan as the test subject? If you get her subconscious memories, if she doesn’t lose them and if she isn’t harmed in any way, then I will consider allowing you to use the machine on me.”
Rokshesan doesn’t hesitate. As strange as it may sound, her unhesitating willingness to be the test subject only causes my fears to become stronger. She walks to the machine and sits in the chair. The machine looks almost exactly like photos of the old form of execution that was used in the United States of America in the Twentieth Century known as the electric chair. Naturally, this only adds to my concerns. The main difference between this chair and the old electric chair is the fact that this chair is heavily padded. The chair has straps for the wrists and ankles, causing me even more concern. At the top of the chair is a metallic “dome” about thirty centimeters in diameter. This dome can be raised or lowered as necessary to reach the top of the subject’s cranium. To the top of this dome, three wires are attached in a design that looks like an equilateral triangle, one wire is just above the center of the forehead and the other two are near the ears. These wires are twisted together and go into a machine that looks like something out of a 500-year-old horror movie. The machine is about two hundred fifty centimeters tall by three hundred centimeters wide by one hundred centimeters deep. It looks like a rectangular box. On the front of the machine are all types of dials, switches, and gauges. The dials are numbered from zero to one hundred in increments of five. The dials and switches are between eye and hand level to a Khorcha. The gauges are in seven rows with large gauges in the top and bottom rows and get progressively smaller toward the center of the face of the machine. Each row is about five centimeters apart as are the gauges. I almost laugh when I see it. It is that ridiculous looking.
Rokshesan sits in the chair, which is plenty big enough to hold a Terran gorilla AND chimpanzee together. Dreydos straps her wrists and ankles to the chair and adjusts the, for want of a better word, cap to her cranium. He walks over to the machine and presses a button and a low hum can be heard. Dreydos is watching a dial that is near the center of the face of the machine near eye level for a human and when the needle reads seventy-five, he steps over to a switch that looks like three strong humans couldn’t move it and pushes it up as if it was a feather. He then steps over to another dial and, when it reads fifty, he turns a switch that looks like a radio volume control switch. The next thing I know I am hearing Rokshesan’s voice coming out of a speaker just to Dreydos’s left.
Rokshesan’s voice, which sounds like she is either drunk or drugged due to being somewhat monotone, is telling about how her “childhood” was formed by her parents almost from the second that she hatched out of her egg. She was the runt of the clutch, and, naturally, her parents showed no compassion for her, because on Khorcha only the strong are allowed to survive, which is why the Khorcha have no respect for humans who care for the sick and weak of our species. Rokshesan decided that she was going to be the most important Khorcha that ever lived. She stole food from her clutch mates at every opportunity. When her clutch mates complained about this, they were severely reprimanded because the complaints were a sign of weakness in the Khorchan society. They were told to protect their food better. She even tried to steal food from her parents once; she got caught and was commended for her ingenuity. But, she was also severely punished, not for stealing, but for getting caught. As a result of this food stealing, in a short amount of time, she was no longer the runt. As a matter of fact, she became the dominant chick in her clutch in intelligence if not actual size.
After this last bit of information, Dreydos shuts the machine down, which is done in reverse order of what was described above. After the machine is completely shut down, he tenderly releases Rokshesan. I never even remotely thought of the Khorcha as being tender. But, I guess that love can make any creature tender towards the loved one.
**********
I hear a door opening. I hear a soft, yet strangely gruff, feminine voice calling me. I try to respond, but, for a short while, I am unable. I hear soft padding of two bare feet approaching my bed. Suddenly, I am fully awake but fearful. I see a large feline face looking directly into my eyes. It looks strangely like a lioness, but also like a furry human face.
The face speaks to me as if it knows me, “Mvilu! Mvilu, are you all right?”
I look at the lioness for a couple of athata uncomprehendingly. Finally, I recognize her. I find my voice and reply, “Yes, Ara. I am all right. I had another of my nightmares. I wish I knew what causes them and what they mean. They scare me and, at the same time, intrigue me. I guess I will figure out what they mean one of these days.”
“Ask the Great Being to interpret them for you, Mvilu. He will assist you if you ask Him to.”
I smile at her. It's one of the rare times since I arrived in her home that Ara has even remotely mentioned anything sounding like a god of any kind. Unless, of course, she spoke of Him before I understood her language.
“Perhaps I will ask Him one day, Ara. Is it morning?”
“Yes. I notice that you seem to have these nightmares just before morning and always when you sleep at night. I wonder if there is a connection.”
“Perhaps there is. I also notice that I have them if I am under any kind of unusual stress or if the day afterward is going to be stressful. Now, if you will excuse me, I will get dressed and help you with the nakyvy.”
Ara made no move to leave, so I said, “Ara, I said I have to get dressed.”
Ara smiled at me and said, “I have seen nakedness before. Do not forget, when Rora was a rothoo I had to dress him.”
I thought about mentioning Rora’s father but thought better of it. I'm not one to speak of private things; however, I did say, “Yes, but I am not Mory and I do not want to delve into whether or not you have ever seen a naked Uany before. Some things are better left unsaid.”
She laughed softly and said, “All right, Mvilu. I never realized you were a modest Uany. You get dressed and I will start preparing the nakyvy. You have another big day ahead of you.” (1)
**********
A short while later, Ara, Rora, and I were eating the nakyvy when we heard someone scratching on the front door. Ara got up, went to the door, and opened it. I heard her speaking quietly to someone outside. I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but soon she returned and said, “That was one of the Ishoo’se Aka’ny guards. He told me the Aka’ are ready to receive you, Mvilu. He also said that you and Rora are to arrive at your earliest convenience, but as soon as possible. I surely hope that everything goes well for you today.”
As soon as we finished eating, clearing the table, and cleaning ourselves up, Rora announced he was ready to leave. (2) Rora walked over to his mother, rubbed his cheek against hers, the Mory equivalent of a kiss, and said, “We leave for the Suala Ka’ynony, Norotha. Since Mvilu has proven his being worthy of life, we will return as soon as the Aka’ are finished with us today.” Then he turned and we left.
Rora seemed in better spirits today than he was last evening. He wasn’t angry, or even taciturn, last night; he just wasn’t in a mood for talking. Today, he was a bit more talkative, although because he was a Mory chohachy, that wasn’t saying much. The Mory achohachy aren’t much for conversation; but, they talk when the occasion calls for it. Today was one of those days.
“I wonder why the Aka’ wanted you back so soon, Mvilu. It is not like them to completely overrule the Ka’yno.”
“I have no idea, Rora. Perhaps I intrigued them more than I thought about my having an idea on how to protect the village and bring fish to it at the same time. They may be a bit surprised at my idea.”
“Perhaps they will. But, Mvilu, be careful with the Ka’yno. I have heard stories of ones that incited his anger dying in a battle a few days later.”
“I do not think I have to worry about that, Rora. After all, what are the odds of me being involved in a battle?”
“Perhaps that is true, but there are other ways to die, Mvilu. He could always find some way to have you killed because you violate some obscure Mory Law and slaves are more expendable than a chohachy.”
“Then, I will do my best to prevent that from happening, Rora.”
**********
When we arrived at the Suala Ka’ynony, Rora’s friend, Vamoo, was on duty. He admitted us to the anteroom and left us to announce our arrival to the Ishoo’se Aka’ny. After a few athata, he returned and showed us into the Ishoo’se Choko Aka’ny. There on the dais were the Aka’, the Ka’yno, and their guards. Once again, the Ka’yno made the introductions of the Ishoo’se Aka’ny. (3)
Today would be different, though. This wasn’t a trial. Therefore, there wouldn’t be a lot of questions asked. However, I was here to give answers. The most important answer was to a question that I had been asked yesterday that, basically, I had refused to answer. I had to do this to intrigue the Aka’ enough to make them want to keep me alive. As I implied in an earlier statement, the Mory place a strong emphasis on the females in their society. When I mentioned that numerous females die regularly and I could possibly save these lives yesterday, I had noticed that several of the Aka’ had sat up straighter in their “thrones”, which was quite impressive since the Mory tend to sit as straight-backed as if they had an iron rod in place of a backbone. At that moment, I knew I had struck a very important chord with them. Enough of them had wanted to keep me alive so they could learn how.
The Ka’yno, sitting on his own throne, looked at me and said, “Uany, you know why you are here. I know you know because I know that Mu-Naka visited your home after the Ishoo’se Aka’ny broke up yesterday.” For some reason, I didn’t find it strange that he would know that. “I also know that he told you that the Ishoo’se Aka’ny had overruled my decision to wait five days before you returned.”
When he said this, I stole a quick glance at Mu-Naka. He showed absolutely no reaction, no emotion at this revelation. I figured he was good at hiding fear, had informed the Ka’yno that he was going to tell me of their decision, or really didn’t care what the Ka’yno thought. Whatever the reason for his stoicism, I wasn’t going to let him down. I, too, would keep my emotions in check to protect him.
The Ka’yno continued, “Therefore, you have been called back before the Ishoo’se Aka’ny to explain to the Aka’ how you can bring fish to the village and how you can protect it from attacks by dangerous animals and other villages. You said yesterday that you would not reveal this secret unless the Aka’ voted to let you live. That was a form of blackmail. You know it and we know it; but, it worked. You have been granted your life. We have kept our part of the bargain, although I disagree with it; now, you keep your end of the bargain.”
I looked at the Ishoo’se. Each one of them was sitting on his throne and leaning slightly toward me expectantly. I looked each one in the eye, including the Ka’yno, before explaining. “My Lords, let me begin by saying, Chitekuro, to each of you. To fulfill my promise, the way I can protect Talo-Vy and bring fish to it is by digging a ditch, a moat if you will, from the river to and around Talo-Vy and the gardens. This will be difficult, but not impossible. It will take time and a lot of manpower, but it can be done.”
The Ka’yno fairly jumped from his throne. “You see! I told you it could not be done! I told you the Uany was merely trying to save his life! He has even admitted that he cannot do it!”
I calmly said to the Ka’yno, “Great One, you are wrong. I never said I could do it. I said I knew of a way it could be done. You are the one that said it could not be done. I merely said it will be difficult and time-consuming.”
Ry-Chakoo said, “I know not this word, mota. Please explain the word.”
“My Lord, Ry-Chakoo, the word that I used, moat, is another word for ditch. But, it is much more than a ditch. In this situation, the ‘mota’ is similar to a small river that will go around Talo-Vy and put it on an artificially made island.”
Re-Sheshoo said, “I see. What size of a ditch are you talking about?”
“The optimum size that I can think of without proper consideration and planning would be ten meters across and at least five meters deep, but it could be narrower, shallower, or both. The width would prevent most animals and any enemy achohachy from jumping across and the depth would prevent them from jumping into the mota to swim across. I also know that the only weapons that the Mory, and most likely the Uany, use are swords and daggers; therefore, the mota would be relatively easy to defend.
“To facilitate the gathering of fish, we could dig several narrow paths down to and along the edge of the water.”
This caused murmuring to course through the Ishoo’se. Finally, Too-Thaty said, “You are right that that size of a mota would prevent attacks on the village. To my knowledge, no animal nor Mory chohachy can jump ten meters, but, how would we get across the mota to hunt?”
“We would have to build several bridges across the mota. Specifically, what we will need to build are draw bridges.”
Hoo-Kavy said, “Dura mvurijuzu? These are words that are not in the language of Tashoo. What do these words mean?”
“I am sorry, my Lord. I guess the best way to describe what I mean would be this. Have you ever come to a stream that was too deep to wade and too wide to jump across?”
“Yes. They are everywhere on Tashoo.”
“What do you do when you encounter them?”
“We either go around them if we can, or we look for a katooeka.”
“Katooeka? This is a word I have never heard before. What does it mean?”
“A katooeka is a tree that has been blown over, or fallen over, a stream such as you just described. It is a word made from two other words, katoo and eka.” (4)
“Oh, I see. Then I will use the correct word. We will have to build akatooeka across the mota. We will also have to decide if we wish to dig a mota between the village and the gardens to help water them.”
Ky-Kikoo said, “I am intrigued by building akatooeka. But, this is something that, to my knowledge, no Mory or Uany has ever built. Is it possible to do this?”
“Yes, my Lord. It not only is possible; it is necessary in order to allow our achohachy and hunting parties to leave Talo-Vy.”
Re-Sheshoo said, “But, what is a dura mvurijuzu?”
“Well, my Lord, as I said earlier mvurijuzu is just my way of saying katooeka. But, a dura katooeka means that the center section of the katooeka can be lifted to prevent anyone, or anything, from crossing the katooeka.”
Sy-Ludy asked, “How can the center section of the katooeka be lifted?”
“What we would need to do is build a tower on either side of the center section that is on the village side of the katooeka. We cut a groove on the top of each tower and install a grooved wheel in the top of each tower.”
Too-Thaty said, “Huyl? What is a huyl?”
“A wheel is a round object that can roll across the ground. There is a hole in the middle of the wheel through which an axle, such as a rod or stick, is passed. The axle allows the wheel to rotate.”
“As you say. I am still confused. Perhaps after you explain further I will understand. But, please continue.”
“It would be easier to show you when we are ready to build the dura span. To continue though, we attach two ropes to the far side of the center section and pass them over and through the grooved wheels in the towers. We attach the ropes to drums with a handle on each one. When we need to lift the center section of the katooeka, we turn the drums and the rope will pull the center section up opening the katooeka and preventing any enemy or dangerous animal from crossing.”
Sy-Ludy and the rest of the Aka’ seemed extremely impressed. This upset the Ka’yno and it showed. In less than two ahi’nu I had told the Aka’ how to protect the village and, in his years as the leader of Talo-Vy, the Ka’yno had been unable to do so. Perhaps that is because protecting the village wasn’t the most important thing to him.
Ja-Mooky asked me, “I will accept the possibility of protecting the village by this mota that you mentioned. However, how will we be able to bring fish here?”
“My Lord, fish, being water creatures, will investigate a new area to swim, especially if this area is shallow enough to prevent larger predators from following them. This means that they will swim through the ditch bringing them closer to the village. Then, all we would have to do is put out nets and catch them as they try to swim through. The ditch will be small enough that the large predators that Ka’ Mu-Naka mentioned yesterday will not be able to swim close to the village.”
Ja-Mooky asked me, “You mentioned a second mota to water the garden. How would this second mota water the garden?”
“My Lord, have you ever noticed how the ground near a stream or river is wet?” He nodded. I continued, “The ground absorbs water from the stream and river. The second mota would bring the water close to the garden where the ground would absorb the water and keep it perpetually moist. The plants in the garden would then be able to absorb the water from the ground during droughts and, as long as the river continues to flow, they should never need rain, although, of course, they will gladly accept the rain when it occurs.”
I had noticed that Mu-Naka never asked questions. He only sat and listened. Every now and then, he would nod his head when I made a particularly salient point. The Ka’yno on the other hand, only scowled when I made such a point. The rest of the Aka’ asked question after question pertaining to my idea.
Eventually, I heard murmurings of, “Is it possible?”
“Is he ‘The One’?”
“He has so much more knowledge than we do; he has to be ‘The One’.”
“This knowledge has to be one fulfillment of the prophecies.”
“The things he says make a lot of sense.”
“These things definitely could save the lives of anohachy.”
“We should do as he suggests.”
Finally, after about two ahi’nu of questioning me, Too-Thaky, the most outspoken Ka’ in favor of my death the day before, stood and said, “I believe we have heard enough. Do the rest of us not agree?” There were seven nodding heads. “However, I have but one more question. Mvilu, how many achohachy would be necessary to complete this task?”
“My Lord, the more achohachy we use the quicker we will be able to complete it. May I ask how many achohachy there are in Talo-Vy?”
The Ka’yno said, “Do not tell him. He is merely trying to ascertain our chohachy strength so he can assist our enemies to overwhelm us in battle.”
Ja-Mooka said, “I do not believe that for a thalloo, Great One. As he said yesterday, any Mory village he came to would kill him on sight and he would not fare much better at any Uany village and he is quite correct. I believe he is sincere in wanting the best for Talo-Vy because what is good for Talo-Vy is good for him. Therefore, I have no problem admitting to him that I have two thousand achohachy in my Ka’na.” His statement seemed to convince the rest of the Aka’ that they should give me the information I requested.
Hoo-Kavy said, “I have about one thousand, five hundred achohachy.”
Sy-Ludy said, “I have about three thousand achohachy.”
Re-Sheshoo said, “I have about two thousand, five hundred achohachy.”
Mu-Naka said, “I have about five thousand achohachy.”
Too-Thaty said, “I have about three thousand, five hundred achohachy.”
Ry-Chakoo said, “I have about three thousand achohachy.”
Ky-Kikoo said, “I have about one thousand achohachy.”
I said, “That means there are over twenty-one thousand achohachy in Talo-Vy.” Damn, this “village” is significantly bigger than I thought it was. By just assuming there was one nohachy for each chohachy, the adult population of Talo-Vy was in excess of 42,000. If each nojasa had only two cubs, plus just one slave for every four Mory residents, there were about 100,000 souls in Talo-Vy. I wouldn’t call that a village. There are full-blown cities on Terra with smaller populations than Talo-Vy. “If each of the Ka’na would provide five hundred achohachy per day, I believe we could complete the task in three to six months, depending on how hard they would be willing to work on the project and how long the ditch would actually be.”
The Ka’yno laughed and said, “They would not be willing in the least to work on the project.”
Curious because of the certainty in his voice, I asked him, “Why is that, Great One?”
“Because you are Uany that is why. No Mory chohachy would willingly work if a Uany were his Ka’.” And he laughed all the harder.
When the Ka’yno said this, Ka’ Mu-Naka stood and said, “He is right, Mvilu. No true Mory chohachy will accept a Uany as his Ka’. However, I do know a way around this situation. I volunteer to be Ka’ of the project. During the times we are working on the mota, you will temporarily be my slave. At night and on the days we do not work on the mota, you will remain Rora’s slave. You will supervise the project, but, all decisions will be officially made by me. I will have to be the Ka’. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, I do, my Lord.” I thought for a thata then added, “If I may make a request, could my master be relieved of his guard duties to assist us? I believe he would not mind helping.” Rora made no sound at what I said, although I’m certain that he was happy at the thought.
The Ka’yno said sarcastically, “Why not? I know that his norotha has wanted him off of guard duty for a long time. Therefore, I will grant this request. I still believe the Uany does not know what he is talking about, but I will allow his request so I can watch him fall from grace. When do you plan on starting the digging?”
“We will start digging the mota as soon as I can measure out where we would want it to run, Great One. Hopefully, we can start in less than ten days.
“May I ask another question of you, Great One?”
Slightly exacerbated, he said, “Ask.”
**********
1-In case you are wondering why you haven't seen contractions in the conversations, it's because the contraction is unheard of in the language of Tashoo. For example, the Tashoo word for do is eo. However, there is no such word as don't, but there is a word for no/not do, kyeo, which, I suppose, could be considered a contraction. So, instead of saying, “Don't go in there.” The residents of Tashoo would say, “Not do go in there.” (Although, technically, the Mory would eliminate the do and say, “Not go in there.”) In other words, the people of Tashoo only use positives and negatives in their language, for example, they have a word for life but not death, even though their lives are surrounded by death on a daily basis. These words would translate into life and not/no life. This is true of all Terran words that have another word that is both opposite and negative. In translating the speech of Tashoo, I chose to use figurative translations instead of literal so that it would be easier for you, the reader, to understand.
2-I was always amazed at how quickly the Mory would complete a task and be prepared to leave it. It did not make a difference what the task was, a conversation, a visit, even a battle, the Mory ended it and it was over. When Ara would complete one of her tapestries, she rarely spent any time admiring it. She would just start another, completely different, one. (Other than the small amount of income that Rora was paid for his guard duty, making and selling tapestries was the only form of income that her household had.) It was the same with every Mory I met. I wondered if this attitude extended to lovemaking. But, I was too embarrassed to ask about it. I later learned the truth about this aspect of Mory society and I will relate this when it occurred.
3-Sometime later, Ka’ Mu-Naka told me that the introductions were required by law, but, it had been done for so long that, despite the legal requirements, it had become a tradition as well.
4-Katoo means water and eka means cross in the language of Tashoo.
