The Power of Gnaris (18 page)

“Yes,” said
Forster. “We even heard you take the oath of office. We received
the signal from your satellite. That is one reason why we came to
Ziemia.”

“It must have
been very confusing for you to hear that oath.”

“Was that also
recorded on KEO 3’s computer?”

“Of course.
The computer’s audio files contained many speeches made by famous
people from Earth’s history, including President Kowalski himself.
He was president at the time of the capsule’s launching. One of the
recorded speeches was the reciting of the oath of office by the
president. It also contained many image files and videos of events
from the Earth’s history, and a collection of literature and other
books of note, famous works of art, music, sports events, and many
other things. KEO 3 contained a complete record of every important
event and every famous person who had ever lived on Earth.”

“How many
cities have the Technocrats built?”

“KEO 3’s
computers contained details of twenty of the most famous cities on
Earth. These have all been built exactly to the specifications
given and in locations as similar as possible to those of the
original cities; however, we have also built other cities using far
less factual knowledge. They will not be identical to the ones on
Earth; neither will their locations. The continents and oceans on
Ziemia are different in size and shape from those on the Earth.
Also, of course, the number of cities on Ziemia is at the moment
much less. There are vast tracts of land which remain undeveloped,
and are still occupied by the less advanced races. One hundred
years is not a great deal of time to move from the Stone Age to the
Technological Age.”

Throughout
this dialogue between the president and Forster, the latter stopped
from time to time to translate for the benefit of Barrow and
Lolena, but the Great Savant spoke next.

“There is
urgent business that requires our attention,” he said. “We must get
to the city of Jerusalem as quickly as possible. Is it far?”

“Jerusalem is
on a different continent. It is 6,000 miles away, nearly 10,000
kilometres, and you have to cross a vast ocean to get there. You
will have to fly. Can you travel in your own spacecraft?”

“That is not
practical,” said Forster. “It would be necessary to attain orbit in
the outer atmosphere, and then re-enter. It would use up too much
fuel.”

“Then you must
travel by plane.”

“Do these
planes fly from Washington to Jerusalem?”

“No, not
exactly. To get to Jerusalem you have to fly to another modern city
named Tel Aviv. Jerusalem itself is not a modern city. Its
inhabitants have not attained the Technological Age, but are ruled
over by a group of Ancients known as Romans. You must travel
overland from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. There are commercial flights
from Washington to Tel Aviv, but these will not be necessary. I
will make my own plane, Air Force One, available to you. It can be
ready to depart tomorrow.”

“Thank you,”
said Barrow. “But how will we get to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv?”

“It is not
far, about fifty miles. I can arrange for a jeep to transport you
to a safe distance from the outskirts of Jerusalem. From there you
would be advised to travel by camel.”

“What is a
camel?”

“It is an
animal that can be ridden. You sit on its back with one leg on
either side, and control its movements with a rope attached to its
head.”

“Is it the
same as a horse?” Forster described the animals that had pulled the
carriage for his and Lolena’s journey to Washington.

“No, they are
different animals, but they can be ridden like horses. However,
they are rather feisty animals.”

When Forster
translated for Lolena, she turned a lighter shade of green.

“Is there no
other way?” she asked.

“Otherwise,
you can walk the last few kilometres,” the president replied.

“We’ll walk,”
said Lolena.

“Now, ladies
and gentlemen, I will arrange accommodation for you for the night
in the Queen’s Bedroom and the Lincoln Bedroom. I regret that this
time you must share.”

“We’re just
grateful to have a comfortable place to sleep for the night, and a
chance to take a bath and eat some food,” said Forster.

Although the
Karavec do not usually eat very much, they appreciated the fine
food that the president’s chef prepared for them that evening.

Barrow slept
restlessly, tossing and turning. The distant rumble of a thunder
storm and the patter of rain on the glass windows kept him awake
until the early hours of the morning. He had just managed to get to
sleep when something else disturbed him. He shot bolt upright into
a sitting position in his bed. This time it was not the sound of a
storm that disturbed him, nor was it a bright light, or a smell, or
a bad taste in the mouth. It was the other sense, the one only the
Karavec possess; it was his gnaris.

“What’s
wrong?” Forster asked.

“It’s Leila,”
Barrow replied. “She’s reaching out to me with her gnaris. She does
not possess the power of the Council members to communicate
directly with me, but I can tell that she is very distressed.
Something is wrong, I know it is. Leila and the others are in
trouble.”

Chapter 15 – The
Massacre

“
The ones
you trust the most will betray you.”

 The Book of
Karavec (39, 11)

Leila and her
party retraced their steps towards the south-west, following the
direction of the source of Barrow’s gnaris.

They had been
walking for more than an hour and were encouraged by the fact that
the gnaris was getting stronger.

When the copse
of tree-like plants straddling the stream came into sight, Leila
whispered to Kuthrow, “I can sense that Barrow is very close now.
He is down by the river.”

At that moment
a group of brown-skinned savages, holding primitive weapons, broke
out from the cover of the plants, running wildly towards Leila, and
shouting in a strange language. “Bardzo, Bardzo,” they said,
followed by a long sentence of guttural sounds. When they saw more
Karavec, they shouted once again in excitement, “Bardzo, Bardzo,”
and pointed back the way they had come.

“Bardzo? What
can it mean?” asked Kuthrow.

“It sounds a
little like Barrow to me,” said Leila. “Are they trying to tell us
that Barrow is down there?”

“We already
know that. We don’t need a group of savages to tell us. No, they
must be saying something else in their language.”

Kuthrow had
just finished speaking when the sound of an engine spluttering into
life drowned out the savages’ cries.

“What’s that?”
Leila asked. “It sounds like the motor of some primitive kind of
vehicle.”

The savages
stopped in their tracks and looked towards the sky. “Bardzo,
Bardzo,” they cried again.

Leila heard a
whirring sound, and what appeared to be a giant insect came
hovering low over the treetops. The savages waved frantically
towards the machine, brandishing the weapons that they carried.

“Barrow and
Elena are inside that flying machine,” Leila said.

“Are you
sure?”

“Yes, I can
detect Barrow’s gnaris getting weaker again.”

The helicopter
did a u-turn over the canopy of foliage, and sailed off towards the
east.

The savages
ran after the vehicle and were soon lost from Leila’s sight.

“What do you
think this means?” Kuthrow asked.

“It could mean
one of two things,” said Leila. “Either the Great Savant and Elena
have been captured again, this time by the advanced race here on
Ziemia, or they have gone willingly with those who fly the strange
machine. The flying vehicle is taking them towards the east. Jesse
told Forster that the capital is east of here. Willingly or not, it
looks like they are on their way to the city.”

“What do we do
now?”

“Nothing. I
think we should just return to the
Gnaris Voyager
, and
wait.”

The captain of
the guards ordered his men to drink at the stream and to fill up
their water bottles for the return walk across the semi-desert to
the spacecraft. By this time, the sun had passed its zenith, and he
expected that they would reach the ship in the cool of the
evening.

When they came
in sight of the craft, Leila’s heart quickened. She looked forward
to sleeping in the safety and comfort of the ship.

Kuthrow pushed
past one of his men and hustled up the stairs to the front entrance
of the ship. He hammered with his fist on the hatch, giving Sirrow
the agreed code for him to open the door. A few moments later, the
hatch swung open. An arm grabbed hold of Kuthrow’s neck, dragging
him inside the ship.

“What
the

” Kuthrow didn’t have time to
complete his sentence before the door slammed shut again.

When Sergeant
Wardrow, Kuthrow’s deputy, saw what had happened, he barked an
order to his men to retreat to the safety of the rocks. He grabbed
Leila by the arm, almost dragging her with him.

“What’s
happened?” asked Leila, gasping for breath.

“I wish I
knew,” said Wardrow. “Have Sirrow and the four soldiers we left
behind been attacked inside our own ship? It seems unlikely. Who or
what could have penetrated our defence shields?”

“There can be
no other explanation,” said Leila, “unless

”

Wardrow looked
at Leila in anticipation. “Go on.”

“Unless Sirrow
himself, or one of the others we left behind, is a traitor; maybe
even the perpetrator of those horrible crimes against the Karavec
embryos.”

“Impossible.”

An anguished
cry from one of the soldiers interrupted their dialogue. “Sir, I
think you’d better come over here.”

The
interruption irritated Wardrow. “What is it, soldier?”

“Sir, we have
found Karavec blood on the ground behind one of those rocks.”

Leila and
Wardrow raced towards the source of the soldier’s dismay.

Leila stooped
and touched the green fluid, drawing her finger towards her
nostrils. “It’s Karavec blood alright,” she confirmed.

During the
following few minutes, the soldiers discovered several more puddles
of Karavec blood, but more significantly they found the emaciated
bodies of Sirrow, the four soldiers who had stayed behind, and
three crew members

the engineer and two
cabin staff. Their throats had been cut, and all the blood had been
drained from their bodies.

“This is very
serious.” Leila spoke softly and with emotion. “My worst fears are
realised. The co-pilot, Joodrow, must be the murderer. It all makes
sense now. He is the one who can freely travel between the Karavec
planets, and even here to Ziemia to deliver his gruesome cargo. But
why? And who on Ziemia has a need for Karavec blood? These
questions will only be answered once Barrow knows what’s going on.
We must send news to him.”

“But Barrow is
far away in the east. How can we contact him?”

Leila patted
here bald head while she considered their situation.

“Sergeant, is
there any way we can get inside the ship without Joodrow
knowing?”

“No.”

“Then we will
have to think of some way to tempt him to come out. Maybe the sight
of so many more potential victims will give him the incentive.”

At that
moment, the ship’s engines burst into life with a loud roar, and
the stairs disappeared into the underbelly of the craft.

“It’s too late
doctor. He is taking off, and he’s taking Captain Kuthrow with
him.”

“What possible
use could Kuthrow be to him, unless he also wants his blood?”

“Perhaps he
wants a hostage for some reason; maybe as a bargaining chip.”

Two minutes
later, the ship began its ascent. Leila and the soldiers crouched
low behind the rocks to protect themselves from the dust and small
stones kicked up and blown by the massive engines.

As soon as the
dust had settled and she could no longer see the craft, Leila
excused herself and prepared to walk off alone into the arid
desert. “I will return in the morning,” she said.

“But you need
protection from the Prehistorics and other savages that roam this
land; not to mention wild animals that we know nothing about. Let
me, or one of my men accompany you.”

“No, this is
something I must do alone. I will keep vigilant, and use my gnaris
to keep watch for any hidden dangers. You and your men must set up
camp here and wait for me. I will return at first light; then we
will decide what to do next.”

“But

”

“Sergeant
Wardrow, you will do as I say. I am the leader of this group now.
Do not worry

and do not try to have me
followed.”

Leila walked
until the sun had set. She felt more confident once darkness
prevailed, and she could remove her goggles. Then she found a space
between two boulders where she planned to spend the night. She
waited until some animal in the distance stopped howling, and
nothing else disturbed the silence or distracted her from the task
ahead.

She was alone.
In fact, she had never felt so alone or so helpless, abandoned on a
strange planet with only a handful of soldiers to help her. Barrow,
the mighty Great Savant, whose power could rival that of any on
Ziemia, and Elena were many miles away. She had no news of Forster
and Lolena. They could be dead for all she knew. And the person she
most relied upon, Kuthrow, had been taken prisoner by one she had
trusted. The ship’s co-pilot had turned traitor.