‘Webber?' Caruso was shocked. 'You mean he’s alive? I thought he was killed by an…an Urqaani.’
Zeela laughed, ‘Why would we kill a child? Is that what Ferris told you?’
Caruso looked back at Ferris, unsure what to believe. Could Webber really be alive?
The Maji spoke, ‘Calm, Caruso. Our seedlings require shelter from the elements till they can stand on their own. Ours is a delicate society. One that wouldn’t survive if truth was freely offered to outsiders. I trust Ferris told you whatever was required to keep you safe with him.
‘However,' the Maji continued, 'there comes a time when being kept in the dark no longer serves, and instead, light is essential for the next stage of growth. So while here today, to welcome you into our circles, I propose we nourish you with all the truth you need. Caruso, I can tell you are budding with curiosities, so ask as many questions as you desire to any of us. I insist. I will ensure you receive honest replies.’
Neither Zeela or Ferris seemed thrilled with this idea. Caruso was hesitant to kindle any tension between them, but he did have a lot of questions, and after all, the Maji insisted.
Caruso turned to Zeela, ‘Is Webber really alive?’
‘He is. Luckily a couple of Urqaani took him under their wing. Apparently it was all they could do to stop him running into your compound to try and rescue you.’
Caruso felt a pang of guilt. How easily had he given up on Webber? How quickly had he forgotten about him? He couldn't remember the last time he had even thought about him.
‘Can I see him?’
‘Of course, you can come back with us to our camp, he would be thrilled.’
The thought of seeing Webber again made him giddy.
‘That will not be happening,’ Ferris said. ‘I will not allow this passive aggressive poaching of one of my own. Caruso, you will see him in the next world.’
‘Actually,’ Zeela said. ‘Webber doesn’t have a slimekey. You Foresters have done your best to limit our supply.’
‘You let a child into Zone 3 without a slimekey?’ Ferris asked.
‘No. While Webber insisted, Eve and Pango refused him. The boy crossed the shroomline himself and followed them back to our camp.’
Caruso smirked, that did sound like something Webber would do.
‘If you’re worried, Ferris, how about you come along as well?’ Zeela offered.
Caruso looked hopefully at Ferris.
Ferris shook his head. ‘Don’t let her kindly appearance fool you, Caruso. Without the Maji’s protection, I doubt that would be a trip I return from.’
Zeela chuckled, ‘The great Ferris, afraid of a bunch of dirty Urchins?’
‘I want to see him,’ Caruso insisted. ‘I promise I'll come straight back.’
‘It's not you I don't trust, Caruso. Besides, you have important work to do and precious little time to do it.’
Caruso could tell Ferris wouldn’t budge.
‘Why can’t Webber get his own slimekey then?' Caruso asked. 'Where do they even come from?’
The Maji answered this one, ‘Slimekeys are harvested from certain shroomtowers after they are struck by lightning. But sometimes years can go by without this happening. And only 144 key holders can exist at one time. So when we are at this limit, a key holder must die for a new slime to grow. Usually though, these final few weeks see quite a few deaths.’
‘Ferris,’ Zeela said. ‘If you truly cared for Caruso’s wishes, perhaps you will agree not to contest us for the next slimekey.’
Caruso knew not to ask Ferris for that, he decided to move on. There were plenty of other questions he wanted answered. ‘What does Urqaani mean?’ he asked Zeela.
‘It comes from an ancient language, Urqaan means the divine path, and the Urqaani are the ones who travel it.’
‘What is the divine path?’
‘Basically, the path the Godshroom leads us on. It is our belief that the Godshroom does not bounce randomly and meaninglessly through the cosmos. There is a deep intelligence behind the Godshroom that works in ways beyond our understanding. By travelling with the Godshroom we are its passengers, its mycelium reaches through our veins, guiding us to our destination.’
‘Mycelium reaches through our veins?’
‘Mycelium grows through the hearts of trees just as it is present in all who live in the zones. It guides us and aligns us on the Godshroom’s path.’
‘Are you speaking metaphorically? Surely we don’t actually have mycelium inside us?’
‘We do,' Zeela answered. 'It’s what connects all travellers to the Godshroom. I take it you’ve been practising with a zone 4 shroom?’
Caruso nodded.
‘Then perhaps you’ve felt it, the coldness in your spine when you use your ability.’
‘I’ve felt the cold spine thing, but never really thought about it.’
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A silence settled amongst them. Outside a firm breeze blew and swayed the shroomtower. The Maji smiled at Caruso, waiting for his next question.
Caruso thought of one. ‘So if the Godshroom doesn’t move between worlds randomly, where is it going? Does it have a final destination?’
‘That is one interpretation,’ Zeela said. ‘However, I am of the ilk that believes we each have our own personal destination that the Godshroom leads us to. This is why I encourage all Urqaani to travel and explore and live in every world we come to. On every planet we visit, at least one Urqaani realises they have arrived at their true destination, and decide to leave the Godshroom for good. Seeing someone find that for themselves is a truly magical thing. This is the Godshroom’s purpose. This is why we travel.’
‘And what do you think of all that?’ Caruso asked Ferris.
‘I think to voluntarily leave the Godshroom is no different to suicide.’
‘To avoid death doesn’t mean to continue living,’ Zeela countered. ‘The Urqaani who have embraced their ends are more alive than most.’
‘Until they die of old age,’ Ferris countered. ‘Remember, Caruso, the Godshroom is just a mushroom. It doesn’t have any divine plans or purpose other than its own survival. Even if it could control us via mycelium in our spines, it would be for its own benefit, not ours. Foresters are the same. We protect the Godshroom to ensure our own longevity. It’s a natural symbiosis.’
Caruso nodded, ‘But if both of you want to protect the Godshroom, why do the Urqaani and Foresters need to fight?’ He vaguely recalled asking Kumiko the same question after drinking the truthbutton tea, but couldn’t quite recall her answer.
‘We don’t,’ Ferris said simply. ‘The Urqaani want us destroyed, so naturally we treat them as a threat to our survival.’
The answer surprised Caruso, he expected it to be a half-truth, but neither the Maji or Zeela stepped in to refute it. The Maji sat watching the argument with a wide smile.
‘It’s true,’ Zeela confirmed. ‘The Foresters no longer live in harmony with the Godshroom. They have strayed from their path and are now a source of corruption. Look at how stunted some Foresters are. They no longer grow and change with the forest. I'm sure you've seen for yourself what passes for Forester “research” or “justice”.’
‘The Maji condones the research we do,’ Ferris said.
‘That doesn’t mean I do,’ Zeela said. ‘We have a responsibility to protect civilians. How many will you murder in the name of your research?’
‘If it can help secure my life, and the life of my Foresters. I will kill as many as it takes. My duty is to protect the Godshroom, not the civilians.’
‘You seriously believe your life to be worth more than all those civilians you’ve killed?’
‘Of course,’ Ferris said. ‘Is a thousand year old pine tree worth more than a dozen saplings?‘
‘But how many saplings will it take to finally tip the balance?’
‘If the tree’s life is infinite, then it must have infinite value, therefore no price is too high in protecting it.’
The Maji nodded at this and Ferris smirked back at Zeela. Caruso felt that Ferris made a more convincing argument. Although there was a sincerity behind Zeela’s words that intrigued him.
Even with the Maji disagreeing with her, Zeela seemed unfazed. She lost none of her composure as she replied. ‘You Foresters are blinded by this concept of eternal life. It is not what the Godshroom intended for us.’
Caruso asked, ‘What do you think the Godshroom intends for us?’
‘Basically what I said before about our true destination. A mushroom only ripens once it’s reached its optimal growing environment, and so do we. When we get to that place, we feel it deep in our mycelium, we feel we have arrived, we grow and flourish into who we were always meant to be. But what if that call is ignored? If you leave a perfect mushroom in the ground without harvesting it, it shrivels and rots and must be disposed of before it invites corruption to the entire garden.’
Ferris smirked again, ‘And what of the Maji? Has he shrivelled and rotted and corrupted us all?’
‘He’s found his destination. His calling is here with the Godshroom. With us. The cordyceps on his back is evidence of this.’
‘Cordyceps?’ Caruso asked. He knew of cordycep mushrooms: a parasitic fungi that grows in insects, its mycelium branches through muscles and brain, directing the host towards an ideal location where it can fruit.
The Maji smiled and turned around to show off the line of cordyceps that sprouted down his spine like the fin on a lizard's back. Caruso stared at them in awe.
‘These have been growing on me for a long time now,’ the Maji said. ‘On every world without exception. Why they appear on me and no one else is one of the Godshroom’s mysteries.’
‘Have you ever tried eating one?’ Caruso asked.
The Maji laughed, ‘I have, not as tasty as honeyfungus. And no noticeable benefits. However, they are something of a delicacy amongst Urqaani.’ He plucked one from his back and handed the long thin shroom to Zeela. She accepted it carefully and ate it with her eyes closed. Caruso masked his disgust.
He racked his brain for more questions. The conversation was proving a rich source of information, he didn’t want to waste this opportunity. ‘So, Maji, between Ferris and Zeela, who do you think has the right of it?’
The Maji smiled, ‘I’m enjoying your questions, Caruso. But I'm afraid my answer is a boring one. Naturally, I don’t take sides—I love all my children equally. The Urqaani believe in appealing to divine nature to find their place in life, the Foresters believe in controlling it to protect themselves. I believe both extremes must be explored in order to find the truth that grows between them.’
‘So why do you allow them to fight? Couldn’t you stop them and demand peace?’
‘I’m not convinced that would be for the best.’
‘But surely violence and killing each other isn’t a good thing?’
‘Can you be so sure?’ The Maji asked, running his fingers through his beard. ‘Pruning a tree allows for new and healthy growth. You wouldn’t be here if my children never fought. But there’s more to it than that. I have been to thousands of worlds, Caruso, and on each one, mankind has a deep rooted history of violence. I have come to accept that civilisation grows best on a medium of bloodshed and war—I no longer see it as a problem that needs fixing. After all, the sapling that grows without wind becomes weak and falls to the first gust. It is the very wind itself which teaches the sapling how to grow. Since the rivalry between the Foresters and Urqaani began, the Godshroom has been at its safest.’
On this it seemed that all three agreed.
‘What happens to the Zones once the Godshroom leaves?’ Caruso asked.
‘Without the Godshroom and its mycelium network, the shrooms which we all know and love will cease to grow.’
‘But even if the Godshroom has gone, and the Zones all die back. It should still be possible to cultivate the mushrooms, right?’
The Maji raised an eye at him, ‘I don’t see why not. And I’m sure a skilled cultivator could make quite a living for themselves doing just this.’
Caruso was relieved to hear that. ‘I have one last question. Do I have to travel in the Godshroom? What if I wanted to stay here?’
‘You do not have to travel, nor will I ever allow anyone to enter the Godshroom against their will. It is your choice alone. It may be tempting to stay. The first journey is a terrifying thing and I’m sure you have loved ones you are reluctant to leave behind. However, if you chose such a path, I fear you would soon realise that you threw away something of far greater value. Friends and family come and go, Caruso, the Godshroom is forever.’
Caruso nodded and thanked everyone for answering his questions. The Maji finally gave Ferris the information he had come for: the Godshroom would ripen in just ten days, then depart in fifteen. It was sooner than Caruso expected.
Ferris wasted no time and stood to leave.
Caruso had a lot to think about. His thoughts went to Webber, he wondered whether his friend was an Urqaani now, or whether they would see each other again. It seemed a cruel ripple of fate learning that Webber still lives but cannot travel with the Godshroom. The Godshroom leaving so soon was an unsettling thought—he didn’t share his concerns with Ferris. It was simply expected that Caruso would travel with the Foresters. To them it seemed a trivial matter. But all the things he was expected to abandon—his body, his world, Miranda, and now Webber—weighed heavy on his mind.