“Make yourselves at home,” he said. “I hope you’re as hungry as I am.”
We all sat down and Gunny put a load of fruit and a loaf of bread on a low table in front of us. He and I dug in. We broke off big chunks of bread and I ate pieces of this awesome fruit that was as sweet and juicy as anything I’d tasted at home. Yorn and Kasha didn’t move.
“Please eat,” Gunny said warmly. “We’re all friends.”
“I thought you said we had no friends here,” Kasha said snottily.
“Outside this hut, you don’t,” Gunny said. “But in here, we’re on the same side.”
“Then as long as we are among friends,” Yorn said, “I’m going to eat.” He reached forward and grabbed himself some fruit.
Kasha grudgingly picked up one of the blue apples and nibbled on it quietly. As we ate, I brought Gunny up to speed with what happened on Veelox. He needed to know that Saint Dane had crushed his first territory, which made our task on Eelong that much more important. He couldn’t be allowed to win again. I went into a ton of detail about Lifelight and the Reality Bug and how Saint Dane nearly caused the deaths of millions of people. I did it for Gunny’s sake, but I also wanted Kasha to hear how dangerous Saint Dane could be.
Gunny, in turn, told us about his time on Eelong.
“When I stepped out of that tree with the flume,” he began, “my, my, I was taken with Eelong. I’d never seen a place so beautiful. I was swept away, which was a mistake because I let my guard down. I went looking for the locals and came upon a band of gars. ‘Course, I didn’t know they were called gars at the time. Two of ‘em picked wild berries while three others stood guard. They were all looking around, like they were doing something wrong, or scared something was about to happen. That should have been my first hint that Eelong wasn’t exactly paradise. Just as I was about to talk to them, I was attacked. It was so fast I didn’t have a chance to defend myself.”
“Was it a tang, or a quig?” I asked.
“It was one of them sneaky lizards. It did a real number on me. It’s how I lost this,” he said while holding up his injured arm. “It could have been worse. If it weren’t for the gars, I’d be a memory. They came to my rescue, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here in Black Water.” Gunny chuckled and added, “They thought I was some kind of king from a distant land, being so tall and dark. I let ‘em go on believing it too. They fixed me up and took care of my arm.” He looked at his arm with sadness. “It’s strange. I feel like my hand is still there until I reach for something and then…”
His voice trailed off. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose my hand. I felt horrible for him.
“The gars explained to me about how the klees were running the show. It took me a while to get my mind around the idea that cats could be so smart. I’m still having trouble with it, no offense.”
“None taken,” Yorn said.
“How did you meet my father?” Kasha asked.
“That’s where I came in,” Yorn answered. “Gunny returned to the flume. I met him there, and took him to meet Seegen.”
“So you already knew Black Water was real?” Kasha asked Yorn.
“No, I didn’t,” Yorn answered.
Gunny said, “I only told Seegen, the Traveler. But this is where things start getting interesting.”
“It’s already pretty interesting,” I threw in.
Gunny said, “I need to show you all something. If you’ve had enough to eat, let’s go for another walk.”
We left the hut and Gunny led us toward the center of town. The gar guards followed, keeping a close eye on Kasha and Yorn. Gunny brought us to a large, four-story building that was designed like all the other log huts, only it was huge. It’s hard to say for sure how big it was, but I’m guessing it covered a couple of acres.
“They call this the Center,” Gunny explained. “It’s where the village rulers meet. In one section they manufacture clothes and tools. Another area is for recreation, where they have concerts and such. They’re pretty good, too.” Gunny said to the guards, “Wait for us here, please.”
The guards didn’t like that. “But-“
“I said, wait for us here.” Gunny was a persuasive guy, though I suppose it helped that Travelers knew how to use the power of suggestion. I wasn’t so good at it, but Gunny looked as if he was a master. The gars backed off and we went inside. We walked down a long corridor with many doors on either side and ended up at a large, black door that looked kind of ominous. Gunny stopped there and turned to us, saying, “Behind this door is not only the future for the gars, but it could very well be the future for all of Eelong.”
“I’m intrigued,” Yorn said.
Gunny opened the door and we stepped into a massive room that I can best describe as a giant greenhouse. Looking up, I saw that the high ceiling was made of glass. Stars could be seen twinkling in the night sky. On the floor were long rows of different sized plants, all holding the most incredible, healthy-looking fruits and vegetables I’d ever seen. There were vines with long, yellow, tubular fruits; bushes laden with orange-size berries; stalks that held the familiar blue apples, but ones twice the size of those I had picked; and trees that were hanging heavy with long, red ropelike fruits that pulled the branches toward the ground. Gunny picked off one of these long fruits and broke it into several pieces, offering them to us. I took a bite to find it had the snap of an apple’s texture, but tasted more like citrus. It was the closest thing to chewing lemonade that I could imagine.
“I guess you could call this a laboratory,” Gunny explained. “The gars have figured out a way to grow plants in air.”
“In air?” I exclaimed. “No dirt?”
“And no water,” Gunny added.
Gunny pushed aside a plant to reveal a heavy, black frame. It reminded me of the thing my grandfather used to grow roses on. It was like a grid, with six-inch squares. I looked around the room to see that all the plants were growing on these black grids. Some were flat on the floor and the plants grew up from it. Others were on end, like a wall, and the healthy plants grew all over it.
“It’s all about this material they invented,” Gunny explained. “They call it ‘Virloam.’ Whatever it’s made of, it somehow takes moisture and nourishment out of the air. Don’t ask me how, but it does. The plants love it. They grow like crazy. Look at how big the fruit gets!”
“So they don’t need water?” Kasha said, as if she couldn’t believe it was true.
“Except for what the virloam gets out of the air,” Gunny said. “They don’t need fertilizer, either. It’s amazing stuff. The gars have more food than they know what to do with.”
“This is incredible!” Kasha exclaimed. “Virloam could help feed all of Eelong!”
“It could,” Gunny said. “But it won’t.”
“Why not?” Kasha demanded.
“There’s more to see, c’mon,” Gunny said.
We walked through the greenhouse, passing by hundreds of plants with the most incredibly healthy-looking fruits and vegetables I could imagine. Kasha was right. This technology could save Eelong.
“I don’t get it, Gunny,” I said. “If the food problem goes away, then the klees won’t have to overturn Edict Forty-six and start hunting gars.”
“That’s true,” Gunny said. “But the gars have other plans.”
We arrived at the far side of the greenhouse and another large, black door. Gunny said, “You asked me why the gars call Black Water ‘home’? The answer is in here.”
JOURNAL #18
(CONTINUED)
EELONG
Gunnyopened the door and we stepped into a gigantic room that was completely filled with row after row of neat, orderly, bunk beds. There had to be thousands of them. All new. All empty.
“There are four more rooms just like this,” Gunny said.
“What is the point?” Yorn asked.
