Ktheg!lik was pretty miserable.
The breathing tube was increasingly uncomfortable and she could feel it damaging her trachea. The fever was unrelenting. She was running out of food that she could mash up sufficiently to swallow without chewing—she was running out of food, period. The water supply did not appear to be replenishing itself.
And she had no idea whether Nik!eh was alive or dead, nor the golem for that matter.
At least the water did not appear to be toxic. Ktheg!lik had gradually imrsed herself as it beca clear that the contaminants in the water were not significantly harmful. She only exited the pool to visit the toilet or drink water.
This was, of course, extrely boring, so Ktheg!lik had pushed herself to drag the glowing radio and the oxygen tanks into the pool area. For three days, there was no news. She couldn't talk, and the people running the radio at the other end quickly ran out of things to say. She had nothing to occupy herself except dark imaginings.
The monotony was finally broken by a rumbling noise from the radio. Ktheg!lik surfaced and flicked water off of her ears, then listened closely. It was irritating not to be able to ask questions. She could hear the others arguing, asking each other questions when none of them knew the answers. Ktheg!lik slapped the edge of the pool repeatedly to get attention.
Geh!kin took over the position of running the radio. "We don't know what's happening, Ktheg!lik," he told her promptly, which she appreciated. "Odaual has volunteered to go outside with the sunshield and see what he can find out." The fuak!a rarely set foot outside during the dayti any more—only when it felt necessary, like now.
Several zegs later, Geh!kin relayed Odaual's report. "It's the alien's floating carriage. Several automata have co out and started digging into the side of the hill near the mine. It doesn't make any sense."
Ktheg!lik's mind raced. That's foolishness. Actually, it sounds like the golem is in control. It's trying to follow instructions but we can't talk to it to explain what its doing wrong. So what is it trying to do?
She wanted to ask exactly what Odaual had seen and done. Had he touched it? If so, the instructions were not, "get to a fuak!a." It's looking for sothing specific. The only things I can think of are myself...and the alien radio. If it's looking for , it's gone to the wrong place. Why? It has to be the radio.
Geh!kin, it's the radio!
Ktheg!lik desperately tried to convey that to Geh!kin, but he didn't get it. It was maddening. She could hear the rumbling getting louder as the alien dug into the mountainside. Finally, soone else figured it out, and the view abruptly started spinning and lurching in a manner dizzying to watch. Soone passed the radio to Odaual, then it was passed back as Odaual needed his hands free to hold the sunshield. Ktheg!lik thought it might be Ak!uan but she wasn't sure.
The two of them ventured outside, the view becoming almost blindingly bright just from reflections of sunlight from the ground. A zeg later, the rumbling noise finally stopped. Ktheg!lik waited. The alien cara was still pointed at the ground, which was frustrating. She clapped her hands for attention, without effect.
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Ktheg!lik wanted to scream from impatience. She couldn't hear the conversation; she thought Ak!uan might be holding the alien radio by its ears, muffling the sound. In frustration, Ktheg!lik grabbed her radio and shook it.
There was so shouted conversation at the other end, then yelling. A chanical whine started up, and faded. The view spun around. It looked as if the radio had been dropped, cara facing upward. It was inside the tent of the sunshield, and Ak!uan was kneeling over it, her ears covering her face.
"O terrible sun! O terrible sun!" she cried, the sound muffled by her ears.
Ktheg!lik clapped frantically for attention, on and on, exhausting herself. Ak!uan, tell what HAPPENED?!?
It was a zeg before Ak!uan got a hold of herself and had the presence of mind to speak into the radio. Her ears unfolded and she bent forward. "Ktheg!lik, it took Odaual!"
What? Ktheg!lik clapped so more. Explain, you fool! What happened?
"All right, all right..." Ak!uan took a breath.
"Apparently, the alien was trying to get to this radio, because when we brought it outside, the automata stopped trying to destroy the shelter. The carriage looks really beat up, by the way. Most of the suncatchers on top were broken, and it was dented in places, and it was filthy all over with seaweed and dust. The hatch opened, and then it just sat there.
"So..." Ak!uan paused for a breath. "So, Odaual climbed inside. He said the alien was inside and looked dead. He tried talking to the golem, but it didn't respond. We just stood there for a zeg, trying to figure out what to do next. Then, all of a sudden, the hatch closed with Odaual still inside! And the floating carriage took off at incredible speed. It left behind all the little digging automata, and those are just sitting here doing nothing.
"And now I'm out here in the dayti by myself and I can't carry the sunshield and the radio at the sa ti and Odaual is gone and I don't know what to doooooo!"
Ktheg!lik folded her ears over her face for a mont. Leave the radio for the mont. Carry the sunshield and get back inside. A couple of people can co out and get the radio right after. Hopefully the device will survive ten zegs in the sun, but if you don't want to chance it, just sit there until sunset. Terrible sun, woman, get a hold of yourself!
It was pretty clear that Ak!uan wasn't going to say anything else useful for a while, so Ktheg!lik subrged again and tried to think.
Nik!eh is dead.
I'm living in a tomb.
It took her a couple of zegs to go any further. What a colossal waste. All this was because of my impatience. Nik!eh is dead, and it's my fault.
If the golem doesn't start responding again, the rest of us will soon be dead, too. I'm such a fool.
Ktheg!lik ntally replayed what she had heard. Is the golem inert, or not? It's not doing much, but it is doing sothing. Why? So last instructions from Nik!eh, perhaps? Will it eventually allow a new master, or will it just sit there forever?
Sothing didn't add up, though. She went over what she knew. Her impression was that the golem was done with all instructions, when it just sat there. Waiting for sothing? For soone to climb inside? No, the carriage didn't take off right away. When it was spoken to? No, it didn't do anything right away when that happened. So what made it take off right then?
What was happening right at that mont? Ktheg!lik didn't see that she had any possible way to figure it out. She couldn't see anyone else at the ti. She had no idea what anyone else was doing. And I'm not able to do anything! I'm so frustrated that I...
Rembering, she surfaced, and stared at the radio. No, it couldn't be.
When I got frustrated, and picked up the radio and shook it, did I accidentally send so kind of signal? The timing was right.
Oh great rcy, what have I done now? The carriage is coming here. There's no other reasonable guess based on its behavior.
The carriage is coming here. It will arrive in a couple of kozegs, maybe more if it is slower now that it's damaged. What do I do?
Ktheg!lik sucked a deep breath through the tube in her throat. I get so answers. I find the golem's heart and try to wring so answers out of it. And I do what I can to help Odaual.
And, I pay my respects...to a good person...a good man...who gave his life trying to save ours.
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