“Are you saying there is no two-way communication with the Lower Houses?” I asked.
“It is rare. Some of us send our thoughts and messages to them when we’re alone at night; we want their advice and guidance but they rarely respond directly and if they do respond it is when and where they choose.”
“Then why are we travelling to Dreken?” I asked.
“Because regardless of how crazy we think you are,” Ashima said while smiling sheepishly. “We really are trying to help you the best we can.”
“You are travelling to Dreken to show your respect and hopefully increase your chances of being heard,” added Semi.
“Like a pilgrimage,” I muttered to myself.
“When we arrive,” Semi continued. “We will guide you to an edifice where they have been historically known to receive visitors. Once there you will be free to make your case for Earth.”
“I could get very used to this,” Anzio said as he lifted another Shrimp Diablo to his mouth.
“Hey, you can’t change your mind now,” I said. “We’re committed.”
Tonight’s midnight snack were large gulf shrimp deveined and laced with a strip of jalapeño, wrapped in bacon, and grilled to perfection.
It had been a little challenging at first but we’d finally gotten the hang of instructing our smartpads to tell the food thingies how to prepare genuine simulated Earth snacks for us.
Or, more precisely, how to prepare the ingredients. This leg of our journey had finally given Anzio a chance to demonstrate this love for cooking he kept claiming to have.
I of course was determined not to admit he had any talent while insisting that he keep trying. So far it was working out very well.
It was also a great excuse to escape the women for a while.
We had explained the whole ‘Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus’ thing and fortunately they were both willing to give us some space. I would never admit it but I needed a break, both physically and mentally.
So we had commandeered one of the unused staterooms and turned it into our unofficial man cave, or clubroom, or… whatever. Anyway, it was ‘No Girls Allowed’.
“Have you given any more thought to how we get these Gabloriels to talk with us?” Anzio asked.
“Yes, a ton of thought,” I said.
After a moment he said, “And…”
“And I still don’t have a definite plan, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I had come to the conclusion that there was very little else we could do except show up and hope for the best. I didn’t really think the major would approve of ‘hope’ as a strategy but in this case I truly didn’t see an alternative.
Fortunately we weren’t going to have much longer to wait. One more full day of traveling and then we’d wake up day after tomorrow in orbit around the planet Dreken.
We had just finished lunch and the four of us were quietly passing the time away on the final day of our four month trek. No one felt like doing anything elaborate. Anzio and I were nervous about hopefully meeting one of the members of House Gabloriel and I think Ashima and Semi were nervous about how we’d react when we were inevitably ignored.
We had some background music going and Ashima was quietly humming along with ‘You can’t Always Get What You Want’ by the Rolling Stones when I remembered something I’d been meaning to ask.
“Ashima, everywhere we go I keep hearing music that I recognize. Come to think of it it’s always classical rock-n-roll.”
Anzio immediately jumped into the conversation, “You’re right Mark, except on Semi’s retreat I was listening to an orchestra playing classical music.”
Semi, looking somewhat surprised answered, “Yes, I guess my tastes are somewhat off-center; most of us do prefer your rock-n-roll.”
“We could all sing some songs; you can choose,” Ashima said, thinking I was still looking for a distraction.
“No,” I said smiling. “You really don’t want to hear me do that… but I guess what I’m asking is how widespread is Earth music?”
“It is becoming very popular,” Ashima answered. “It is really unique and it just makes us feel good.”
“Why have I never heard any Coridian music?” I asked.
“Well, some women do specialize in harmonics, and we have quite a number of mnemonic story-tunes for our children to learn and remember important information with. It wouldn’t do for them to be totally reliant on their bioware without ever using any of their own cognitive function, but we don’t have any music as complex or as exciting as what Earthers produce.”
I suddenly remembered the rapt attention everyone gave Julie when she sang that last night on Larga. Everyone seemed fixated except for several of the male Coridians.
“Ashima, why is it only the women that enjoy our music?”
“Mark, our men are not at all musical. It is simply something they consider frivolous.”
After looking off into space for a few moments Semi said, “You have a name for it in your medical journals. For Earthers it is extremely rare and it is called Specific Musical Anhedonia. It is a condition where a person derives zero pleasure from listening to music.”
“Ah,” said Anzio. “You mean to say your men they cannot make sense of the musical notes?”
“No. Your journals call that Amusia. Our men can hear the notes; they are just not emotionally moved by them.”
“But your women do feel our music?” I reiterated.
“Oh yes Mark,” Ashima assured me. “Except for being with you physically, Earther music is the greatest thing about knowing Earthers!”
I really didn’t know how to respond to that.
I finally did manage to get some sleep that night and it was early the next morning that we found ourselves in orbit around the planet Dreken. I’ll admit that it was somewhat difficult to get my breakfast down. I don’t think I tasted any of it and I couldn’t recount to you what I actually ate even on a dare.
Anzio was obviously being supportive but unlike the girls he knew me well enough to give me some room. Ashima eventually picked up on my unresponsiveness and they both followed Anzio’s lead.
The planet looked more or less like all the habitable worlds we had seen so far except there were no orbital platforms, satellites, or cities visible on the surface.
We travelled planetside in a shuttle and landed in a small clearing. After a few moments of silence Semi stood and moved to the hatch which automatically opened for her. Glancing once over her shoulder to us she left the shuttle.
We followed her outside and onto a wide path through a dense forest that was filled with flowers and vegetation of startling color. Competing for kaleidoscopic majesty were insects with large iridescent wings and some type of multicolored lizard. The smell of the forest loam was pleasant and the temperature was perfect.
After crossing a small brook with tantalizingly clear water we passed through a large stone arch and entered a stone-paved pavilion roughly 30 yards across.
Semi stopped just inside the arch and looked at me expectantly.
“Where to now?” I asked.
“We are here,” she responded. “This place is the Al-Drek Circle.”
“What do I do?” I persisted.
She looked at me, smiled resignedly and said, “Speak your thoughts.”
I looked around the clearing realizing that this was nothing like I had visualized. There was no door to knock on, no bell to ring; there was apparently only one way to announce myself.
I gathered my thoughts and prepared to speak…