Chapter 65

Four days later.

Time: Friday, March 8, 2019 5 PM

It had been a long but very productive day, and now Jada was in the homestretch of returning to the central island. She was in the lead boat and had a clear view of their destination only two kilometers ahead. Her convoy had just entered the southeastern end of the highly elongated central lake that contained their home, and at that point they had split in two. Jada and Mandy were both in expedition kayaks and towing Little Auks. Lynn was also paddling with them. On their right and pulling away were Madison, Charles, and Parni, paddling three additional kayaks to the unexplored northwestern shore near its closest approach to the island. Madison jokingly characterized this last part of the mission as installing a telephone booth.

So many wonderful supplies they were bringing back! Fatima had sent down the fourth of their society’s five captured pistols. Now Carla and Tom at the entrance rooms and Madison and Charles here were all armed. And Fatima had also given Jada two of the brand new Leophones. Lynn was carrying one back to the central island, and the team heading for shore intended to padlock the other one in a strongbox and chain it to a tree.

Fifteen people would be at the island tonight, with a total of ten kayaks in the boathouse. The days were still full of things to do. Mandy was giving two classes per day in kayaking and the two library consoles were literally in constant use, with Lynn having the absolute right to use one whenever she wanted. Everybody else used the sign-up logs.

And yet there was also much free time. Their stay here was beginning to feel like a vacation. Sandra’s team was still overjoyed with the change of venue. No fears of animal attacks, opulent bedrooms and fabulous food, watching a movie or listening to music in the lounge, working out in the gym or just strolling the six hundred meters of the island’s perimeter, in total it was an insanely idyllic life. Jada’s one worry was when would it start to get boring?

Well, that was a worry for another day. Jada’s mind returned to the bittersweet news of the end of the search for Red Mall survivors. Only two women had been rescued, all the others had perished. The census counter had dropped to 009:077 late yesterday evening.

And the news from Black Mall was so quiet, it seemed ominous. There had been no sighting of Jessica since the day of her disaster with Alfonso. There was no sign of Ricardo either. But the other four men were working furiously gathering supplies they were very careful never to reveal, and Hannah reported that the treatment of Alfonso was horrible. He was being worked figuratively and perhaps even literally to death.

The river current was now its maximum and the hexagonal island fast approaching. Jada brushed the extraneous thoughts from her mind and concentrated on inserting her kayak into exactly the right flow line.

Meanwhile, approximately six kilometers south and 1.5 kilometers above...

Fatima walked into the cubical room serving as Lucia’s makeshift bedroom. She took off her backpack and gave the patient a kind smile. Lucia grinned back from her cot and said hello.

“Sorry I took four days to get here,” said Fatima. “It’s great to see you sitting up though.”

“Ah, you must be Fatima. Husna has told me so much about you. I’m honored.”

Fatima laughed. “Hah!”

“I gather Husna is sleeping?”

Fatima nodded and sat down besides the cot, her eyes even without linking clearly showing her happiness over Lucia’s improving condition.

Lucia grinned. “Well, I’ve had great care. Emily turned my stomach back on in just the right way, juices and milk the first day, crackers and breads added on the second, and then yesterday we started on small portions of egg and meat proteins.” Lucia raised her bone-thin arm and stared at it for a moment. “I must still look like a scarecrow to you, but this is really a big improvement, and I have so much more energy now.”

In spite of the boast, Lucia then took a deep breath and yawned before looking at Fatima’s backpack. “I take it you didn’t come with Emily?”

Fatima shook her head. “She’s taking a well deserved nap right now. Besides, we don’t need her to get here, just to get back.”

Lucia nodded. “Right. Emily and Whitney explained that to me, some of the others too. They told us everything, what this place is, the destruction of the Earth, all the things you’ve done and are trying to do. I take it you know all about us?”

Fatima shrugged. “The gist of it from talking to a few of the away team. I haven’t had time to listen to the audio recordings.” She pulled a bottle out of her backpack. “Here, I brought you something, fresh grapefruit juice!”

Lucia took a large sip. “Ah, delicious, thank you.” After another sip, she continued, “Fatima, I’d be happy to fill you in on the details of what happened to us. Do you want to hear a summary?”

“You up for it?”

“Sure! And thanks for not linking. I guess you know, it speeds up the body’s metabolism. Emily advised Husna and me to avoid it until we regain a few more kilos.”

Fatima nodded. “Right, I understand. I gather that’s what speeded up your starvation process.”

“Yes. I was talking about this yesterday. Your three super-minds were here for a visit, packing in more supplies.”

“Super-minds? Oh, you mean Mark and his two wives.”

“Uh huh. I couldn’t resist. I cajoled Mark into linking with me for a few seconds. What awesome power!”

Fatima looked puzzled. “That’s an interesting comment. Mark and I, we’re not exactly engaged in a formal way, but we both expect to marry someday.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I find it’s a super smooth transition to link with him, with Toshi and Frida too, and it is exhilarating to enter the dream worlds they create, but I never felt any particular sense of power.”

Lucia dismissed Fatima’s remark with a shake of her head. “That’s because you haven’t practiced enough. My group was isolated for two months. We had nothing to do except link with each other, and the skills and sensitivities grow with practice. Believe me, your three super-minds are awesome!”

Fatima grinned. “Okay, I believe you. I can’t wait to tell Mark your opinion of him. He has a bashful side. It’ll be fun to make him blush.”

Lucia nodded. “I saw a little of his love for you in our link, for all of you. Want to know something? Part of his embarrassment is being sexually interested in so many women at the same time. He still hasn’t adjusted to it.”

“He showed you that?”

“I saw it. He wasn’t particularly offering but he didn’t resist my probes.”

Fatima tilted her head in puzzlement.

“Imagine lying down and letting someone explore your body, explore it completely, your entire skin, in between your toes, the inside of your mouth and nostrils, everyplace possible. That’s what Mark sort of allowed me to do with his mind. It was a mini trip.”

“Hmm ... Emily explained that concept to me a bit, your concept of tripping.”

“It’s a real phenomenon, more than linking, less than what Mark can do. There were eight of us trapped here. Emily calls this place a box-maze. Tripping allows two minds to mesh very tightly. It allows one mind to shield the other from its fears. It’s how we would face eternity when our bodies were giving out, how we’d spare ourselves the fright of dying alone. It’s amazing how easily Mark can unwind from tripping. For us it’s very difficult, and the death of one mind would pull down the other linked with it.”

Fatima sighed. “If only we could have started our searching sooner.”

Lucia shook her head. “I know your history, Fatima. None of this is your fault.” She yawned again and lay back down on her cot, taking a moment to fluff her pillow. And then she began to tell Fatima her story. She started with a question.

“I was in the very first elevator ride to ... You still haven’t named this planet, have you?”

Fatima shook her head. “We haven’t, and it deserves one, I know. For a while we were thinking of waiting until we had joined up with everyone possible, wait and get everybody’s input. But this morning I was talking to Mark’s sister Madison down in Wobanakik...” Fatima looked at Lucia and asked for confirmation with her eyes.

“Yep, your care team is keeping us up to date on what’s going on.”