The days blurred together as Jal entered the last twelve months of primary school. On the days that Jal wasn’t in Nik with Sage Elvan, it worked at the pottery wheel crafting hundreds of pieces that Master Neve sold to shops in Kop and Fugely.
At the guild office in Nik, Jal asked for a list of local herbalists. After several conversations with them, Jal consulted Jan, and they tried to figure out what to do. “It seems to me that if you had the journeyman level, either of these two herbalists might take you on.”
“But I don’t have that. What should do?”
“Would the Guild Master tell you what the requirements were to pass the exam?”
“I didn’t think to ask.”
Jal went back to the guild. Samra Dodik, the Guild Master scowled at its questions. “Your master should be able to answer these questions, Jal.”
“Master Samra, I told you the last time I was here that Master Avina died.” It sighed. “I am trying to find a new master. I also need to keep studying. I need a list of the material that I need to know for the journeyman test.” She handed Jal a thick paper book with an outline of the material. “Would you talk with me about the process? Are several apprentices tested at the same time? Or individually when they are ready?”
Samra tried to be patient as she explained that Jal could come in, when it was ready, and take the exam.
“According to my records you became an apprentice when you were only five. That means you’ve been studying for only two years. How often were you meeting with Master Avena?”
“Once each week.” Jal said as it glanced through the requirements for the journeyman level.
“That’s it? You won’t be ready for this exam until you’re nine.”
“I believe,” Jal turned a few more pages. “That I could pass a test on all of this right now.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I’d like to take the journeyman test right now, please.”
“I allow for two hours for the written examination. There’s an hour of identification of live plants. And an hour of mixing medicines. This office closes in an hour. Come back tomorrow morning.”
Jal went to the Peace Foundation office and talked to Jan. It didn’t bother trying to study. It was confident that it knew the material, so it worked on schoolwork. The next morning, Jal took the exams. It wasn’t sure about a few of the medicine mixtures, so it guessed on a few questions. Jal was lucky that day, and it received the certification of journeyman.
Feeling less pressured, Jal laid aside the requirements for the next herbalist level and focused on schoolwork. Most subjects weren’t a problem. The challenges were the math classes. Jal took a practice test one day and its score was embarrassingly low.
“I need help,” Jal stood at Jan’s side that night. “Can you help me with this?”
“No. I stink at math. Let’s find you a tutor.”
A few days later, Jal met with another Stafriez student at the Academy campus library in Nik. “Why don’t you go to the classes?” she suggested. “They’re held over in that building.” She pointed out the window.
“What days and times?” Jal asked hopefully.
When she told Jal, its shoulders sagged. “I can’t. I’m at work during that time.”
“Work?”
“I’m an apprentice at the Peace Foundation.”
“Ask them to change your schedule,” she suggested.
“I will. In the meantime, I can pay you for lessons?” They set up a time to meet twice weekly for a few months.
When Jal asked Sage Elvan if it would consider changing Jal’s schedule, the sage said no. “I have you come in for specific reasons, Jal. This is why you’re learning on-line, remember? You can listen to the lectures and sit in on the question-and-answer sessions. You can play parts of the lectures back. Let’s see if the tutoring helps. If it doesn’t, we’ll make a new plan.”
Jal, determined not to complain, agreed with this.
Weapons and martial arts practices filled its calendar and its skills improved in the tournaments that were held twice a month. Jal began to wear the armor that Jan had given it. The enhancements woven into the fabric gave Jal extra strength. It had used a stinger sword, and switched to a broad sword. The tournaments seemed easier, and one weekend Jal topped the bracket of the Level 3 fighters with an 8 win and no loss record.
It was late one night when Jal finally turned off its computer and got ready for bed. Its mind churned with information about potential members of the expedition and their qualifications. The Protectorate Luminaries and Dr. Gyasi had created a massive list of names. Jal was overwhelmed with all the information. It didn’t know how it would sort things through.
Jan had been reading in bed when it heard Jal’s footsteps. It jumped up to Jal’s doorway and waited. Jal stood in the doorway of the bathroom studying the mirror as it cleaned its mouth. When Jal was finished, it slipped the toothbrush into a holder.
“Can we talk -”
“Don’t do that!” Jal shouted.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Do what?”
“I hate it when you creep up behind me at night!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to creep.”
“You could call out my name when you jump to this level,” Jal complained. “It shocks me every time.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were afraid.”
“There is a huge difference between shocked and afraid.” Jal flicked the hair out of its eyes. “Ugh. I’m sorry. I was so focused. I thought I had a potential solution to a problem, now I lost it.” Jal paced back and forth across the room, clearly agitated.
“All those people. What purpose would they each serve? How do they all fit together? It’s like putting a puzzle together.” It mumbled as it went on and on. “Too many pieces. Too many people. That’s it!” Jal seized the tablet and drew a chart. “We have three main goals. Each person will have to take on different roles, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and another in the evening. We need to have only three or four things happening simultaneously so that people are always in a small group. At night we all need to sleep. Androids will need to stand guard while others sleep. They can recharge using the mobile solar units. We’ll need to rest when the sun is at the upper part of the arc, so we can conserve energy.”
“Jal,” Sage Elvan said gently. “It’s time to get some rest. You need to think about something else.”
“Like what?”
“How about planning a camping trip for us?”
***
Jal tossed the fishing line into the water and watched Jan. Eiske was lining things up by the fire pit, mumbling to himself about a special recipe he was determined to try. The wind began to pick up speed and the lake became choppy.
“What happens if we don’t catch anything?” Jan asked Jal.
“We’ve made back-up menus in case that happens.”
“I hope it's not canned junk.”
“Jan, how many times have you had canned food?”
“Tarryn cooked it when I was little.”
“Are you sure? Why would she cook canned stuff, Jan? She was in charge of the garden, the chickens, and the shopping, wasn’t she?”
“Yes.” Jan was quiet for a few minutes. “Maybe we had canned stuff in the winter before the solarium was used properly. No, that can’t be right. She maintained that for years. Where did I get the idea that canned food tasted bad?”
“Maybe you heard someone say it?”
“I can’t remember anything specific.”
The reel on Jan’s rod whirred. “There’s something on your hook. Start reeling it in.” Jan began to turn the reel. As it drew the line in, they could see a good-sized trout on the hook. Jal brought the net and helped Jan put the fish on the cord for their catch. It watched as Jan put fresh bait on the hook and tossed the line out again.
Jal pulled in a small fish and let it go. The two took turns hauling them in and stopped when they had six. Jan watched for a minute as Jal cut into the first fish and began to clean out the entrails. A moment later, Jan was vomiting in the bushes on the far side of the campsite.
“I don’t think I can eat that,” Jan muttered when it came back to the fire.
“You’ll be fine. It’s hard the first few times when you see them being cleaned. You’ll get used to it,” Jal said encouragingly.
“I don’t think so.” Jan wandered over to Eiske and watched him mix the batter for apple dessert. “Are there vegetables, Eiske?”
“Right there,” he pointed to a bowl of greens. “Pick out a mint leaf and chew it. It will clean the taste out of your mouth and settle your gut a bit.”
“Are these from your garden?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” Jan felt its irritation grow.
“What’s wrong?” Jal saw the look on its face.
“I feel like I should be doing something. This is a waste of time.”
“Would you grab the cooking oil?” Jal pointed to it. “Pour a bit in this pan.” Jan did as Jal instructed. “This must be incredibly difficult for you,” Jal remarked. “You’re always busy. Even when you’re at home, you often work.”
“That’s what I’m paid to do, Jal.”
“I’m pretty sure that most of the other people at the Foundation Office don’t work nearly as much as you do.”
“Well,” Jan glared at Jal, “You’re always busy too!”
“I am. I’m not going to deny that. Won’t it change for me after I’m finished at the university? I’ll go to work during the day and have the evenings and nights free?”
“It depends on your career. And if you spend a lot of time with your friends.”
“Speaking of careers,” Eiske said to Jan, “Are you going to take the year off to train and then go on this expedition with Jal?”
“Take the year off?” Jan became alarmed. “If I do that, I’ll lose my position at the Peace Foundation.”
“I would think that they would give you a year of sabbatical.”
“What’s that, Eiske?” Jal asked.
“It’s when you take a year to do something that will help your career. Some people go for advanced training or to do research. Others travel and learn about other cultures. Some businesses will hold your position for you and plan that you’ll return when the year is up. It’s something to ask about,” Eiske said to Jan. “If you do go, you’ll need to prepare yourself physically and mentally. It will be a strenuous journey.”
“Prepare?” Now Jan was frustrated. It hadn’t thought about this. “I do calisthenics and run on the treadmill daily.”
“The first fifteen months of the year, we’ll have rock-climbing training, several intermediate-length hikes, and two longer hikes,” Jal stated.
“Hikes?”
“Five- and ten-day walking journeys.” The fish sizzled in the pan, and the crickets chirped loudly. “Everyone will be fitted for walking, carrying, and fighting gear. We’ll have practice fights to ensure that people are equipped to deal with threatening situations.”
“How do you know all this, Jal?” Jan wanted to know. Eiske’s eyebrows went up.
“Because I’m the co-leader.” Jal eyed Jan. “Why are you asking me this? You knew this.”
“You’re going to be in charge of a group of … of who?”
“We’re working on that. We’ll be doing interviews with the candidates that turn in their applications.”
“Applications? Who is the other co-leader, Jal?”
“Dr. Yaaba Gyasi.”
“You’re doing an interview with each person that wants to go? When were you going to tell me this?”
“I’ll give you a form and a packet of information as soon as we finish developing it.”
“You’re going to interview me?”
“Dr. Gyasi will handle your interview and evaluations.”
“Why are you making this so complicated?”
“We’re not. We’ve identified about fifty people that would be beneficial to have along. Not everyone is going to be able to go. Some people will drop out because they’re not in good enough physical condition. Others may not be granted sabbaticals by their employers. Others may decide that they can’t get along with some of the other participants. This is the process that we presented to the Luminaries and they agree that not just anyone should be allowed to go. The safety of the group and the success of the mission are the priorities.”
“What’s happening with you, Jal? You sound like...” Jan’s voice trailed off.
“Like what?”
“Like someone I don’t know. Why haven’t you shared any of this with me?”
“Because right now, we’re in the planning stages. In a month or so, the initial information will be released to the people we’ve identified. They’ll be asked to sign a statement agreeing to keep silent about the expedition until we are ready to tell the public. At the same time, those people will be invited to submit an application to go along. This information and process has to be kept under control. When it becomes public, the Protectorate Luminaries are going to have their hands full with publicity and an explanation of what’s going on. It will impact the entire planet.”
“What? It’s just a bunch of people walking across a continent.”
“Yes. And people will want to know why. It will raise a lot of questions about the structure and function of the Protectorate staff, the use of currency being raised and used this way, and the psychological health of the Luminaries.”
“You’re right. People are going to think all of you are crazy! Maybe you should stop this, this, whatever this is, right now!”