Chapter 5

Log. 26386.d

The global climate is changing. The energy generated by Treiny's fall has dissipated in a frightening way, and disasters have happened all along the coast. The wonderful beach where we were is now gone. Many cities were destroyed by earthquakes and tsunamis. We were very lucky to get out in time. I hope this ends soon, otherwise we will have no way of getting to the underground city.

They were sitting by the fire, Ganen had copied her crossword puzzle to a paper sheet, and her teeth were about to destroy the end of her pencil. She still didn’t know the 5-letter word for “tough as nails”.

Esha didn’t know many words, communication wasn’t one of her strong features, but she was a polite girl, and quite good at reading maps. Ganen taught her some words, the name of some stars, and which insects were safe to eat.

Other ruins emerged from the ground, surrounded by grass and bricks, but they didn’t explore these ones. Esha would cower under the car seat and try to disappear every time a wall appeared among the sparse trees.

Séra started noticing Ganen seemed upset from time to time. She would spend hours staring beyond the window. She started to talk, mostly to break the silence; her current excuse was teaching things to Esha.

The ruins were not monsters, neither were the mechanical things found in them. Those were nothing but tools, machines people from the past used to make things. Most instruments were broken, it was actually a surprise they weren’t destroyed by time.

— So there’s no need to fear them, little one. All you have to do is keep your distance, wait for it to stop, then go and chop some wires. — Séra sounded rather confident. — Works every time.

— Are there Immortals where we’re going? — she whispered. It was strange speaking without permission.

— I don’t think so, but there might be some gadgets and tools. Don’t worry though, no one will hurt ya like that again.

Séra had no idea what that child had been through, but she didn’t want any other horrible things to plague her young mind.

— Mum said those metal evil things were made by Machines, to eat people.

— I don’t think they ate people, ya see, they were not alive like ya and me. — However, there wasn’t much more she knew about them. Not for certain.

— The knowledge was lost a long time ago. — Ganen broke her own silence. — But I don’t believe they had to eat. Or do anything we have to do, you know? Sleep, drink, use the bathroom, struggle to remember 5-letter words.

— Mum said they were evil.

— But they are all in the past now, eh. — Séra said. — You’re safe, don’t worry, little one.

And Esha really hoped Séra was right, because she felt safe around those two women. They talked about simple things, family, friends, food. Mum always talked about gods, how each of their children — Mum’s and Dad’s — should face an Immortal. Séra and Ganen would never say the world was solely for the strong ones.

And although she kept quiet most of the time, Esha loved hearing Ganen’s theories about the past. She said those ruins were whole civilizations before, and fossils showed the desert wasn’t quite a desert in the far past.

She described how the trees were taller and the animals were larger, the fossils they would find at the clay deposits were much larger than the animals nowadays. Esha had no idea what fossils were, but maybe Ganen would notice and explain later. Or not, her topics varied wildly alongside the conversations.

Except for these moments, Ganen had been very quiet. She seemed angry and, when she thought no one was looking, she would grab her other crossword puzzles and look up for a 5-letter word for “tough as nail”.

Séra was a bit concerned, it was strange seeing Ganen upset, especially about such little things, but when she screamed with her the other night, Séra knew something was wrong. She waited in their tent for Ganen, but since the woman never arrived, she decided to go and find her.

At first, Séra thought Ganen had perhaps wandered too far, even though they had agreed to stay close to the car. She wasn’t anywhere. But then she called, her voice from above:

— Up here. — Ganen had climbed one of the trees. — Are you looking for me?

— I am, yah. I don’t think I can get up there, though.

— It’s easy, I’ll help you. — She pointed a few strong branches close to where the tree parted in two. — Step there and hold those, then you basically crawl up to here.

— Oi, I don’t like that. I ain’t sure ya can hold me if I fall.

— You won’t, come on. I’ll help you go down too.

— Don’t let me fall. — Séra looked at Ganen with serious eyes.

— I won’t.

Séra took a deep breath, then stepped where Ganen showed, held herself up on the branches, and started crawling, pushing herself with her legs and grabbing that one branch for dear life.

— There you are. — Ganen petted her head. — It wasn’t that bad, uhm?

— It was terrifying. — Séra held her hands and shook the fear away. — Talk to me.

Ganen sighed. She didn’t even know where to start.

— Is it because of the crossword? — Séra insisted a bit. — We can check if there’s a thesaurus in Bridge City.

— No, it’s not that. I mean, it is, but that’s just one little part of it. — She looked up to the sky, her eyes were as bright as the stars. — I don’t think my mum will remember me when I go back.

— What do ya mean? — Séra didn’t follow. — Did ya fight or something?

— No. I left after my grandmother died.

There was an awkward silence, Séra didn’t know what to say and Ganen hesitated to continue. The only sounds were the leaves dancing to the light breeze, even the cicadas had piped down.

— There was a moment at the wake. My mum was sitting on a chair, gazing at nothing. She seemed lost, but not mourning-lost, she seemed lost lost. And when I asked her if she wanted to go home, it took her quite a few seconds for her to understand what was happening.

— Maybe she was just sad, it’s normal to feel a bit…

— No. She wasn’t sad. For a moment, she had no idea of what was going on. So, on that next week, I left. And I am sure she won’t remember me. But it’s fine. — she added suddenly. — I was up here making peace with myself, I don’t know the 5-letter word, and it’s okay. I’ll learn it one day and I’ll be Hurray! I found the word! and that’s fine.

— I mean, I think we do have money to buy a thesaurus.

— I’d love that. — Ganen touched Séra’s face and kissed her tenderly. — Thank you.

— I don’t know much about the thing with your mother, but…

— Let’s not talk about it. — Ganen shook her head in a no. — It’s not a subject I like to think about.

— Okay, yah. — Séra didn’t know how to respond to such an honest request. For a few seconds she stayed silent, trying to find what to say. — Of course, we can talk about whatever. Esha! We can talk about the kid.

— She is very sweet, but I hope we can find her a place to stay at Bridge City. – Ganen sighed. — This trip is already hard for two people, and she’s far too young to accompany us!

— Yah… and she’s bound to find the Machine, I don’t know how she hasn’t found it yet.

— She is terrified, so she won’t do a thing. I had no idea people like that existed.

— Yah, unfortunately they’re out there. — Séra was looking at the stars, she wouldn’t dare look down. — Some groups are small, others are large, some have a lot of influence, like the Sun Zealots in Sand City, others are completely unknown, like these Immortal guys.

— Do you think we should have gone after them?

— That’s something I don’t like thinking about. — Nervous, she laughed a bit. — I’m glad we were able to find some useful parts, that’s all. Now I can fix just about anything in the car.

— So not everything? — Ganen laid her head on Séra’s shoulder.

— Well, no, if the car explodes, I won’t be able to fix it. — She tried to keep a serious facade and failed.

— I hope it doesn’t! — Ganen laughed, then held her hand tightly.

— Me too, ya know? Me too. Ya know what I also think?

— What?

— We should get down and get some sleep. — Séra was trying to hold a yawn.

— Alright. — Ganen yielded. — I’ll help you get down.

Ganen stayed with Séra until she fell asleep, then she got out and kept guard around their small camp. The path had been mostly safe so far, but knowing there were people sacrificing children not far from them made her wide awake.

Log. 25896.t

According to some predictions, this layer of dust shall remain for a long time, so The Great Government started distributing some extra batteries and a device for our bodies to adapt to wind energy. Everything is absolute chaos, I hope I can leave soon. Once we distribute the light memory drives with the antidote-code, we’ll have one less problem to solve.

Bridge City was everyday closer, and Séra was excited to see and explore the place where water crossed the city on a bridge, instead of the other way around. And she was glad her enthusiasm was contagious, because both Ganen and Esha looked happier.

Esha was a bit more talkative, though that wasn’t much, but Ganen’s expression was lighter, like if all that weight was lifted from her shoulders. Séra didn’t really understand what her friend was saying, but she was glad it helped.

And just as travellers had always made known, the city was surrounded by water. It glistened with the sunlight, and there was so much green. Small gazelles jumped around fruitful bushes and weren’t scared off by them or even the car. The little animals just jumped around the vehicle like the most normal thing ever.

An opposite bridge awaited them, where the path would lower so that the water could cross the bridge. As Séra drove below it, she looked around in awe. She followed the water with her eyes to the edge of the city, where a large canal, soon divided in four, originated from a large, tall building. It was amazingly curious.

— I’d love to give it a look, see how it works. Because, ya know, in Sand City we have a similar system, but the water canals are low, to use the water’s own pressure and gravity in our favour. Here, it has to go up! It makes no sense.

— We need to restock, for that we’ll need money, so then we need a job. — Ganen raised her brows. — Maybe there’s one over there.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

— Oi, I like those plans.

Bridge City didn’t have walls, like Sand City, it had gardens and crops around it. They created a unique path into the city, where two guards seemed surprised to see them. Their car was one they didn’t know, so they asked Séra to stop it.

— Hello, visitors! — One of the guards approached the driver’s window. — Welcome to Bridge City! Would you mind stating your business here?

— Hi. — Séra had to think for a few seconds. — We’re travelling, mostly passing through, we need a place to stay and rest for a bit.

— I see. — the second guard said. — Well, if you’re staying more than one night, stop by the Big Building and they’ll give you the instructions, where to stay, where to work, etc.

— Oh! That big building? — With a smile, she pointed to the tall construction where the water canals came from.

— Oh, no, no. That’s the hydroplant. I’m talking about the one in the city centre. But there are some openings in there, I think, we need all hands we can get.

— Neat! Thanks, we’ll go to the Big Building, then.

— See you around! — The guards followed the car with their eyes, then walked back to their stations.

Séra drove in, bright-eyed at the whole place. The houses had large windows and solar panels on the roofs, grass and bushes coloured the streets, and the aqueducts shone in the morning sun. People seemed happy and free, and Séra imagined what it would be like to live in there.

Cars and bicycles filled the street, some people walked around with small pet-gazelles, and children were slowly walking to school. Everyone had colourful scarves, which made the women quite curious, but they were sure it would be explained soon.

Finding the Big Building wasn’t difficult: there were signs leading to it, and the construction itself caught all the newcomers' attention. It was a renovated ruin, no doubts about that, the roof was round, full of flowers around it, and the walls were painted in bright colours.

Séra parked the car and helped Esha out as Ganen checked if all their tech things were well hidden. It could be troublesome if someone found it. The girl didn’t let go of Séra’s hand, and the three walked into the building together.

Inside, it was as beautiful and decorated as the outside. Glass murals created rainbows on the walls and floors, their meanings long lost, and a woman wearing a linen suit and green scarf welcomed the visitors.

— Hello, I’m Diandra, and welcome to Bridge City. How may I help you, ladies?

— I’m Ganen, hi. These are Séra and Esha, we are looking for a place to stay for a little while. We’re travelling.

— Oh, perfect! We never had so many visitors at once! — Diandra smiled. — You see, just the other day, another group came by, they’ve been wonderful! Now, come on, let’s see which places are available. And, just letting you two know, if you’re staying for more than a night, we’ll also get you jobs. Everyone is good at something, we just need to find your calling!

They followed Diandra to an archive room, she told them to sit and started looking through the file cabinet named “Vacant”. She offered them three small houses — bedroom, kitchen, bathroom — and Ganen chose the one closest to the entrance. She wanted a place they could leave easily and fast, in case the city decided one of them had to stay forever.

Once the house was chosen, Diandra said Esha should go to school while they were there, and gave her a light pink scarf. She explained it should be worn at all times, however she liked it. The girl looked at it for a long time before wrapping it around her bandaged arm.

— All school kids wear them, so don’t worry. — Then she looked at Séra and Ganen. — Let me see where you should be working. There are always vacancies at the hydroplant, but you need some knowledge to work in there. We also have construction and farming jobs, and some clerks always enjoy the extra help.

— Oi, I’m an engineer and mechanic, I can build and fix basically anything. — Séra smiled at the opportunity. — And Ganen here is a genius, she knows all about keeping water clean and such.

— Oh, is that true? — Diandra asked.

— Yeah. — Ganen smiled, a bit shy. — I wouldn’t say I know all the things, but I do know much. I studied a lot about life back at home.

— Oh dear, that’s lovely. Where do you come from?

— I’m from Tree City and Séra is from Sand City.

— And the little one? — Diandra smiled at Esha.

— We’re not sure, to be honest. — Ganen answered when Esha remained silent. — We found her lost in the desert, so she tagged along.

— Oh! I see! I thought she was your daughter or something. — She laughed a bit. — Well, I’ll get someone to take you two to the hydroplant, and little Esha could check the school with me, how about that?

They all looked at Esha and after a few seconds, the girl held Ganen’s hand. She was nervous.

— Don’t you worry, little one, all children are very important here in Bridge City. You’re the future of our civilization, afterall!

Esha cowered a bit, her eyes begged Ganen to help.

— How about I go with you for today? — Ganen got the message, though she really wanted to see the hydroplant.

Esha nodded and all was settled. Diandra, then, gave Séra and Ganen grey scarves — for visitors with no jobs yet — and called her assistant to take Séra to the hydroplant; she also told them to take her to the house they’d chosen, then added that the rest of them could walk to the school.

The school was also a renovated ruin, a low building with large windows and a great inner patio, where children played and practised some sports. Diandra explained most classes were practical, so Esha would have many things to do and learn, like planting, tending to cattle, building useful things, and so on.

She told them with great pride that children were cherished in Bridge City, the whole community looked after them, and no child was left to suffer. She even said, once Esha was talking to the teacher, she’d talk to the Officers about sending a group of Defenders to find the people who hurt her.

The girl wasn’t even sure about her age, though she looked no older than ten, but the teacher — with a red scarf — said it wasn’t so important, since most groups were divided by what they knew, not so much by age. That helped many kids in similar situations; orphans from other cities weren’t uncommon in Bridge City.

After talking to the teacher and explaining Esha’s situation, he decided to put the girl with a group who was planting some vegetables on the patio. He assured Ganen she would be fine and they would call her or Séra if anything happened.

Once Esha had settled down a bit, Ganen asked if she could check the hydroplant and, for the first time with a smile, the girl said it was fine.

— I’ll come get you later, okay?

— Okay. — Esha nodded.

Diandra offered to walk Ganen up to the hydroplant, and as they walked, she talked about the history of the city. Although they were in the savannah, there was a river to the east where they would get water from.

As Séra was being told, the water would flow down and be caught by large aqueducts directed to the hydroplant, which was responsible for cleaning and distributing the water. All this process made the canals to be quite pressurised, that was why they were above ground.

The hydroplant was huge, and it stood tall above the highest buildings. It was always the first thing one would see if going to Bridge City, and it was the most important building. All the water used in the city — for the crops, showering, drinking, energy — came from there.

There was a huge pool where the water was boiled and filtered of any impurities, then distributed throughout the town. Through boiling, the vapour was forced up, where it would cool, and then, once again liquid, it was directed down the large pipes which ran across the city.

And the place was huge, much bigger than Sand City, which Séra never thought was possible. She had driven for almost half an hour on their way to the hydroplant, and she was wondering around the city. There were mechanical gates on almost all doors, and the lights beside the roads were said to be powered by electrical, not solar energy, which was absurd.

However, she saw how the pressure the water came down onto those turbines could make them spin faster than the eye could see. And even though she had never seen something like that before, she understood quite well how one kind of energy could be turned into another.

While Diandra walked Ganen to the hydroplant, she told her how they planted and kept the gardens and crops around the city. Although they weren’t too far from forests more south on the road, Bridge City had become a little paradise for small animals. And Ganen had to admit, she knew the songs of hundreds of birds, but there were birds in the city she had never heard before.

— So, what’s it like in Tree City?

— Wow, uhm… I think it’s something like here, Tree City’s also a paradise for nature. We build our houses on the trees to respect the habitat, and it helps keep them above the water during the summer floods. — She looked at the canal, where water glistened in the sun. — We don’t have energy from water, like here, but we have gorgeous solar panels, they look like leaves, and are put on top of trees. They power the whole city.

— So I suppose water is not your saviour, but your villain? — She whistled, surprised. — I can’t imagine having floods.

— Oh, you also praise the sun and the moon? — Ganen tried her best not to sound judgemental.

— Most of the city praises the Rain. The Bringer of Water, The Nurturer of Life. My faith is strong, I look at my home and can’t deny it, but my practice’s lacking. — She shared an embarrassed smile.

— I hope you understand my concern. Sun Zealots forbade Séra from leaving the city and those Immortals people would have killed Esha if we hadn’t intervened. I don’t want to sound narrow-minded.

— Don’t worry, my dear. We actually have quite some people from Sand City living here, trying to avoid the same thing you two are.

— I’m glad to hear it, I think.

— You and your friend may even know some people! You’ll find some of them at the hydroplant. — Diandra smiled. — We’re almost there now.

Log. 25563.h

I’ve been keeping fewer memories. It’s difficult to get energy, because of the thick layer of dust enveloping Gaya. We don't know how long it will remain like this. Everyone's maintenance is compromised, both inorganic and organic, so I can't spend time or battery on making a memoir. But we’ve made a plan. One of us will go to the underground city and deliver the light memory drives. It has to be an inorganic human, because whether they like it or not, we survive better. Whoever goes must have an external battery, which, by our calculations, should be sufficient. If we have something that proves our connection with the Organic Group, we will be allowed to enter.

I just hope it's not suicide.

Their first day of work was mostly testing both women’s abilities to check if they were indeed fit for the kind of work they had chosen. On the first week, they explored the hydroplant, learnt the whereabouts, and worked a day in each station, in order to practise and know the whole plant.

In Bridge City, as long as a machine was essentially controlled by humans, it was allowed within the city walls. The hydroplant was full of large machinery, gigantic boiler rooms, pressure-controlled doors, and a lab to test the water conditions.

The tech they had in the car, however, wasn’t allowed, and they would be in big trouble if it was found, but since they were visitors, Séra and Ganen hoped they wouldn’t break anything and just make them leave town.

— Should we even take it out of the car? — Séra asked as they drove to the school.

— Are you okay with walking from the hydroplant to the house everyday? — Ganen wondered. She had gotten a bit tired after walking from the school to there.

— Uhm, ya have a point there, love. It’s not close.

— And driving the tech stuff around isn’t great either. — She looked quite serious as she added: — We have to hide it somewhere Esha won’t find it.

— She didn’t find it when she was sitting on it. Putting it all under the bed might be enough. — Séra laughed, trying to ease the situation.

— Poor thing, she’s so scared of… — She raised her hands in a question. — Of everything!

— She is. I can’t really blame her. Some of these religious groups can be quite dangerous. I’ve heard of some who actually do some good, they look for lost people, share food with those who don’t have it, help people start farms and such, but… yeah, there’s always a bad apple. Do ya practise any belief? I don’t know if we’ve ever talked about this.

— Not really. In Tree City it is common for people to worship life itself, nature, not one all powerful entity. We respect the world around us and try our best to live in harmony.

— That sounds good. In Sand City no one is forced to believe in anything, but, as you saw, the Sun Zealots are quite influential.

— Yeah. You can stop around here, the school is across the street. — Ganen pointed to a colourful building. — I think it’s better if you wait here, because of the stuff in the car.

Séra nodded and, within five minutes, Ganen was back with Esha. She seemed happy to be with the two women again. When asked how her day was, she said it was fun. They planted some vegetables, then cut food in funny shapes before cooking it.

— And there was so much food! — she said, quite surprised. — And the teacher said I could eat all I wanted!

— Are you very full? — Ganen asked with a smile.

— Yes. Will I go there tomorrow too?

— Do ya want to go? — Séra asked, just to be sure.

— Yes. It’s fun.

— Then you will. — Ganen showed her the two blue scarves Séra and her were given. — We’ll stay in town for a while, we have work now. So you can go to school as many times as you want.

— Thank you. — Esha sounded happy. She was never allowed to return somewhere in her previous life.

Once they arrived in the house, Séra decided they should explore the place a bit and check where their tech could be hidden, then do it later, when the streets would be empty and Esha asleep.

The house was small, a kitchen, where the entrance was; a bedroom with a couple bed, which seemed large enough for the three of them; and a small bathroom, with a toilet and an electrical shower.

— Are those the suicide showers? — Séra stared at them, she was a bit suspicious.

— Yeah. — Ganen laughed. — But they’re safe, fresh water doesn’t conduct energy well.

— I know that, love, but I still think mixing water and lighting is bound to make a storm.

— I’ll protect you when you shower, okay? — Ganen wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her face closer, gave her a kiss. — Can you protect me?

— Of course I can, love.

They were about to test the bed when Esha asked what they were doing. As Ganen saw Séra’s face in incandescent red, she thanked the universe for her dark skin; blushing was too embarrassing.

— Nothing. — Ganen managed to say as she stood up. — So, let’s get our things and organise this tiny house, shall we?

They put their food in the kitchen — what would spoil soon was to be eaten first — and they needed to get more food and water to continue the journey. Bedding was left on the bed until further notice, and they decided to wait until Esha was showering to bring their tech in.

Under the bed was a good hiding place, and if they got some boxes, it would be easy to keep everything hidden. Their only problem was the Machine. It was heavy and cumbersome, and having a body under the bed was too close for comfort.

In the end, they decided to keep it hidden in the car, under a wooden plate in the boot. Séra managed to put it under lock and key, and they hoped for the best.