'I can't say much for the uncivilized habit the locals have of sticking heads on sharpened poles, but this whole village is a miracle. Look at the workmanship in these walls,' he said, running his fingers over the white plastered surface. 'I've got a mil lion questions. Any word from our hostess?'
'She sent Tessa by and said she would see us after we've had a chance to rest. Talk about pulling a rabbit out a hat. I thought the Chulo grabbed Dieter's wife.'
The goddess had offered no explanations. After greeting the Trouts by name and producing Tessa, she simply said, 'Please be patient. I'll explain everything in time.'
At a clap of her hands two young Indian women had emerged with heads lowered from behind the curtain. The bare-breasted ladies-in-waiting led the Trouts to their bedroom, demonstrated the workings of the shower, and left them with a bowl of fruit.
'I know better than to disobey a white goddess,' Paul said, sitting alongside his wife. 'What do you make of her?'
'Let's deal with the obvious.' Gamay tallied her conclusions on her fingers. 'She didn't grow up in these parts. She speaks English with a slight accent. She's smart. She's friendly. And certainly knows her fruit. Here, try one of these little yellow ones. It tastes like an orange sprinkled with cinnamon.'
Trout sampled the plum-sized blob and agreed with the assessment. Then he stretched out on the bed, his feet sticking out over the end. They only intended to rest a little while, but exhausted from the long trek in the sun and relaxed by the shower, they fell asleep.
When they awoke they saw an Indian lady-in-waiting sitting cross-legged on the floor watching them. Seeing them stir, she slipped silently from the room. Lying on a table were their clothes, which had disappeared when they were in the shower. Their shorts and shirts had been washed clean of sweat and grime and were neatly folded. Trout checked his watch. They had slept three hours. They dressed quickly, hastened by the aroma of cooking food.
Tessa arrived and beckoned for them to follow. She led them along a passageway to a large chamber. A dark wood table and three covered stools occupied the center of the room. An Indian woman was tending to clay pots bubbling on a ceramic stove whose exhaust was carried through the ceiling by pipes.
The white goddess arrived a moment later, her barefoot presence announced by the soft jingle of her metal bracelets and anklets. A pendant similar to that worn by the dead Indian hung from her neck. She was wearing a two-piece suit of jaguar skin which hugged the contours of her bronzed body nicely. She had Oriental eyes and high cheekbones. Her hair, bleached to a honeyed blond by the sun, was combed back and cut in bangs the way the native women wore theirs. Taking a seat at the table, she said, 'You look more rested.' 'The shower helped immensely,' Gamay said.
'That's a remarkable setup,' Paul added. 'As a native New Englander, I was intrigued by your Yankee inventiveness.'
'It was one of my first projects, thank you. The water is pumped by windmill into a holding tank to maintain pressure. It ties in with a ventilated system of pipes that runs through these walls and keeps this place cool even on the hottest days. It was the best air conditioning I could come up with given the materials I had to work with.' Anticipating their curiosity, she said, 'First we'll eat, and then we'll talk.'
The cook brought over a vegetable and meat stew served with salad greens in blue-and-white bowls. Questions were for gotten as Gamay and Paul plunged into their food, washing their meal down with a refreshing faintly alcoholic beverage. Sugar sweetened cakes were served for dessert. The goddess looked on, amused at their hunger.
When the dishes were cleared, the goddess declared, 'Now it is time to pay for your dinner.' She smiled. 'You must tell me what has been going on in the outside world for the past ten years.'
'That's a cheap price for a meal like that,' Paul said.
'You may not think so when I'm through. Start with science if you will. What advances, great or small, have come about in the last decade?'
They took turns, describing the advances in computers, the widespread use of the Internet and wireless communication, the space shuttle missions, the Hubble telescope, unmanned space probes, discoveries by NUMA in the field of oceanography, and
advances in medicine. She listened with fascination, her chin resting on her folded hands. Occasionally she asked a probing question that indicated her own scientific background, but mostly she absorbed the information with the dreamy look of an addict inhaling opium fumes. 'Now tell me about the political situation,' she requested.
Again they pored through the events in their memory: American presidential politics, relations with Russia, the Persian Gulf wars, the strife in the Balkans, droughts, famines, terrorism, the European Union. She asked about Brazil and seemed pleased when they said the country had become a democracy. They talked about movies and plays, music and art, about the deaths of well-known figures. Even Paul and Gamay were surprised at the incredible busyness of the past decade. Their jaws were get ting tired from the litany of events.
'What about cancer? Have they found a cure?'
'Unfortunately no.'
'What about fresh water? Is it still a problem for many countries?'
'Worse than ever, between development and pollution.'
She shook her head sadly. 'So much,' she said in a faraway voice. 'I've missed so much. I don't know if my parents are still alive. I miss them, my mother especially.' A tear gleamed in her eye, and she wiped it away with her napkin. 'I must apologize for being so demanding, but you have no idea how awful it is to be isolated here in the forest, with no communication to the out side world. You have been very kind and patient. Now it is time for you to hear my story.' She called for tea to be served, then dismissed the Indian women so that there were only the three of them.
'My name is Francesca Cabral,' she began. For an hour the Trouts listened raptly to the goddess's story, starting with her family, going through her education in Brazil and America, up to the time of the plane crash.
'I was the only survivor of the crash,' she said. 'The copilot was a scoundrel, but he knew how to fly. The jet skidded into
muddy wetlands near the river. The mud cushioned the landing and prevented fire. When I woke up I found myself in a hut where the Indians carried me. I was in terrible pain from my cuts and bruises, and my right leg was broken. A compound fracture, the worst kind. As you've heard, the rain forest medicines can be potent. They set my leg and treated me with potions that dulled the suffering and promoted healing. I learned later that the plane had landed on top of their chief's house and killed him. They held me no ill. In fact, it was just the opposite.' 'They made you their goddess,' Gamay said.
'You can see why. The Chulo retreated from the onslaught of the white man a long time ago. They've been completely cut off from the world. Then I come like a comet flaming from the sky. Gods are supposed to behave that way to keep people in line. They figured the chief had angered the gods. I became the center of their religion.'
'A cargo cult?' Gamay offered.
Paul said, 'Back during World War II, natives who saw planes overhead for the first time built replicas on the ground to worship.'
~
~
'Yes,' Gamay said. 'Remember that movie The Gods Must Be Crazy? A Coke bottle dropped from an airplane became an object of religious veneration and started all sorts of trouble.'
'Precisely,' Francesca said. 'Think of how those natives would react if they had an actual plane in their possession.'
'That explains the shrine with the plane at its center.'
She nodded. 'They hauled the pieces of the jet there and did a fairly good job of reassembling it. Sort of a 'chariot of the god.' We have to sacrifice an animal now and then so the gods won't wreak more destruction on the tribe.'
'The plane was blue and white,' Gamay said. 'The natives paint themselves with the same color scheme. No coincidence?'
