Chapter Nine Krish
Davix wants little to do with the strange creatures, but I am sitting in the cylindrical chamber before the time when the leader creature – Corrina – usually arrives.
Zann figured out that the numbers on the walls in places correspond to the cycle of light and dark on board the ship, so we’ve been able to learn when Corrina will appear.
I lift a hand in greeting as Zann approaches and sits beside me, and we wait. And wait. And wait.
“Corrina should be here,” I say finally.
We can see a little bit of the other ship through the transparent door, and the other creatures seem to be rushing more than usual.
“Something is happening,” I say, watching a group of creatures hurry past. One of them is still carrying part of its coverings as it rushes to catch the others. “Something different.”
“Have you seen Corrina or second leader?” Zann asks, tilting his head and peering through the door.
I shake my head. Though Corrina often comes to spend time in this chamber by herself, sometimes second leader comes also.
They look very different from each other, but the way they interact reminds me of me and my brood brothers.
I wonder if they were raised in the same communal nest cave.
Second leader is much larger than Corrina and has fur on its lower face in a mixture of silver and black.
The top of its head is smooth like ours.
At first I wondered if the quantity of head fur was a sign of Corrina’s authority, but head fur seems to be more related to whether a creature has chest lumps.
Though even that differs, because some creatures with chest lumps have a lot of head fur and some do not.
And some creatures without chest lumps have more head fur than those with chest lumps.
And head fur seems to come in a seemingly endless array of colors.
I have also observed that the creatures come in a variety of skin shades, ranging from dark brown to a pale pink that is almost white.
They are very interesting creatures. Our own kind have skin tones that vary slightly in intensity, but we all share similar coloring.
The sound of the door opening interrupts my thinking. I glance towards the sound and see Corrina standing with its hands on its hips. It nods at me and glances at Zann, then says something to him slowly and carefully. And then it stares at him. And waits.
Zann glances at me, but I don’t know what he expects from me. Finally, he lets out a heavy sigh and nods. “Some. I understand some,” he says loudly and firmly.
Corrina closes its eyes and tips its head back to murmur something softly.
The corners of its mouth quirk upwards in what I have learned is a pleased expression.
It opens its mouth and begins to speak again, still slowly and carefully.
When it is done, Zann nods and turns to me.
“We are arriving at a thing called a station,” he says.
“Corrina asks if we will come with them. For more,” he pauses and thinks for a moment. “Medicine and food and learning.”
“Davix will not like it,” I murmur.
“If the choice is being left in this ship for the rest of his days or coming to the station, he will come.” Zann pauses. “Besides, I am our leader, and I say we go.”
I nod. “I will let you tell him that,” I say.
When Zann does tell him exactly that, Davix’s hands are moving so quickly that I can barely understand him.
Zann does not seem to have the same problem.
Or Zann is just ignoring whatever Davix is trying to say.
“Enough!” Zann finally barks. “We cannot stay here, so we will go where Corrina asks us to go.”
“Why?” Davix asks once more. He has asked this so many times it is like a kit first learning to talk.
“Davix,” Zann says exasperatedly. “I do not want to spend the rest of our days here, in this Lianov ship. Corrina says that the station is a much bigger place, with food and medicine. And plants and open space.” That fact captures our attention.
“I do not know what will come next, but we must do something. I will not order you, but I am asking you. Please. As your brood brother and as your leader. Let us go to the station.” At that, some of the fight seems to go out of Davix.
He nods slowly, and then we both follow Zann back to the cylindrical chamber.
“We are ready,” Zann tells Corrina, and then we are making our way through its ship.
I had thought that the Lianov ship was large, but the Corrina ship is at least twice as large.
There are large numbers of creatures – they are humans like Alek, I remind myself – hurrying in all directions.
Many of them stop and stare as we pass by, but none try to interact with us in any way.
Whether that is because Corrina marches quickly in front of us or for some other reason, I cannot say.
At last, we come to a large open chamber.
I see cages and glass containers containing many of the creatures and things that I recognize from Lianov’s ship.
Perhaps this is where they store the treasure of their conquered enemies.
Corrina says something to Zann, and Davix and I wait for his translation.
“Corrina wants us to know that the station is very, very large.” I think that it seems like a strange thing to tell us until massive doors open at the far end of the chamber and I stare in awe.
Buildings of all sizes and shapes stretch as far into the distance as I can see.
Some ascend towards the stars at impossible heights while others are low to the ground.
Many of them are covered or surrounded by greenery, and others still seem to have ponds or other bodies of water on or around them.
All together, this station is bigger than anything I have ever seen.
I hurry forward, stopping only when Zann calls out to me.
I wait for my brood brothers impatiently and then the three of us step onto a large platform that towers above countless buildings and structures.
In addition to the plants and trees that seem to grow right out of some of the buildings, I see large, open green areas in the distance.
Above and all around us is a dark sky filled with stars.
And there are more human-like creatures everywhere I look.
They move around, shifting cages and animals and crates and piloting small ships with wheels.
I stand and stare, transfixed, until Davix grabs my arm and drags me along.
We are moving again, following Corrina down a sloping hallway.
It nods to various creatures along the way, and some of them exchange hand motions.
We pass by many rooms, and I long to stop and stare into them but Corrina does not stop.
It moves surprisingly quickly for such a small creature.
We finally arrive in a room filled with bright lights and many machines and long, narrow, metal tables.
Corrina speaks to Zann and waits for him to translate.
“This is a place of medicine,” Zann tells us.
“Corrina wishes for us all to receive medicine here. It says we can all receive a new talking chip – it will replace mine with a better one if I want.”
Davix looks doubtful. “I do not require medicine.”
Corrina speaks again, and Zann looks surprised. “It also says they can remove your pain chips.”
“Yes,” I say immediately and step forward. “What do I do to get a talking chip and take out the pain chip?”
“Lianov is dead,” Davix signs. “What does it matter that the pain device is removed?”
Zann asks Corrina our questions and provides its answers. To me, he says, “They will give you instructions. It should not take long.
To Davix, he says, “Corrina says the chip can be triggered by other controllers.”
Davix opens his mouth in a silent snarl, but Corrina does not flinch. It says something quietly and calmly, and Zann nods. “It says it is our choice. It says no one will try to force us to do anything.”
Davix scoffs as if daring someone to try. But I am tired of waiting for Zann to translate every word, and I am more than ready to have the pain chip removed. “I am ready,” I announce. Corrina gives me a look that just barely exposes its blunt teeth and pats one of the metal tables.
“Lie on that,” Zann says. He leans close to me.
“I will warn you – the talking – translator chip burns like ikis venom. I do not know what will happen to remove the other.” I nod.
After days of rest and a full belly, I am prepared for the pain.
I lie still on the metal table as one of the creatures approaches carefully.
I recognize its brightly colored hair from when it interacted with us on the first day we were released from captivity.
It presses a thin rod to the skin behind my right ear and I feel a slight pinch.
I brace for the pain, but it never comes.
What does come, however, is a flood of words.
“…should do it. Since it’s already programmed with all local languages, it should start working right away,” the creature with the rod says. “Removing the motivator is going to be a little more challenging. I don’t know if I should give it something for the pain or not.”
“I can handle a great deal of pain,” I reply. I laugh when the creature with the rod jumps back in surprise.
“I guess it’s working,” Corrina says. “Krish,” it says to me. “Do you want something to prevent the pain when they take out the motivator?”
I shake my head. It cannot be worse than the pain that the chip caused, and I bore that many times over.
“It did not hurt to get the talking chip?” Zann asks curiously. I think there is a little disappointment in his voice.
“Like the sting of a tsege fly. No more.” Zann looks surprised and eager.
“Do it. Take out the motivator,” I demand, glancing back at the creature who implanted the talking chip.
The creature with the rod nods. “You’ll need to turn over and lie very still,” it says, setting down the rod and picking up a very tiny knife.
I flip over on the metal table easily and curl my hands around the edges.
I feel something cold and wet on my skin, then the knife penetrates and I feel something press into my flesh.
A moment later, the brief pain is gone and a small metal object drops onto the table next to me.
“That is the thing?” I ask, as I feel something pressed to my skin.
“That’s the chip,” the medical creature says. I snatch it up between my fingers and stare at it for a moment before closing my fist around it and crushing it. It is less satisfying than killing Lianov, but it is still satisfying.
“I will have a new chip,” Zann announces. He goes to lie on one of the metal tables, but he is far too large to fit. Instead, he ends up crouching in place. His face erupts in a grin when the new chip is placed. “Much better than the last one,” he announces. “Better understanding too.”
We both turn to look at Davix. “It will allow you to understand them,” Zann says gently. “But no one will touch you without permission.”
Davix glares at me and Zann and every other creature in the room, but eventually he lies on a metal table and allows the same procedures. He cannot help his expression of surprise when the translator chip is placed. As for the pain chip, he crushes it under his thumb like an insect.
“I will show you to your quarters,” Corrina says finally.
“You are not prisoners, but for your safety and the safety of this station, I ask that you not leave your quarters without a guard,” it says as it leads us down another hallway.
Zann reaches out a hand to stop Davix’s protest before he can express it. “We can do this.”
“I am also arranging for educational videos to be accessible on ports in your quarters. Now that you can understand the language, you’ll be able to gain a lot of information that way.” Corrina opens the door to a large room and gestures inside. “Your quarters,” it announces.
“There is no nest,” I say, stepping inside. There are surfaces for sitting, but I do not see any place for sleeping.
“There are three bedrooms,” Corrina says, stepping inside and opening another door to reveal a smaller room with a sleeping platform.
“Why would we need three sleeping platforms?” Zann asks curiously. Corrina’s eye fur shifts slightly, but it doesn’t respond to Zann’s question.
“Make yourselves comfortable. Someone will be back shortly to escort you to dinner in the mess hall.”
“Not others,” Davix signs. “Too many others. Why can’t it escort us?” He points at Corrina.
“I thought you did not trust Corrina,” Zann signs.
“I don’t. But at least Corrina is familiar,” Davix replies.
Zann nods and turns to face Corrina. “There are too many new creatures. Can you come back for escorting us to dinner?”
The creature looks surprised at the request. “I will try,” it says.
It shows us how to operate the information port.
As the door opens for it to leave, I see four creatures standing on the other side of the door.
They glance in at us nervously. But I am too intrigued by the information port to worry about them.
Davix stalks off to gather up blankets and other soft things to make a communal nest, and I settle in to learn everything I can.