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A short, narrow hallway led from the Etaem temple entrance inside to a large room covered with animated murals. On the room’s left wall, figures depicted in the mural resembled the statues Devika had seen on her way in. The figures swam among sand dunes hunting giant worms. Presumably the Etaem, they possessed five legs, brown carapaces, and heads that narrowed to a point.
“They remind me of squids,” Devika said to Nico. “Except with clawed feet.”
“Cool tattoos,” Nico said, pointing out the blue or green markings adorning much of their carapaces.
Visitors stepped through a doorway in the middle of the scene, while others studied different aspects of the murals.
Devika wrinkled her nose at the stench of sweat. “Too bad the Etaem didn’t provide a place to freshen up.”
On the wall to their right, the animated mural depicted tiny Etaem stacking stone blocks on what she guessed was the base of a new pyramid. Other Etaem poured mud into square molds, or carved large rocks hauled in from the jungle.
“I wonder what it took to get these back up and running?” Devika asked, marveling at the image quality.
“I heard the discoverers claimed it all functioned on its own when they found it,” Nico said.
“No way. How long have the Etaem been gone?”
Nico shrugged. “Several hundred years, I believe.”
Devika whistled. All this time, and yet their artifacts still functioned, showing no signs of deterioration. How long might it last? She wished she could look behind the murals to see what the Etaem had used to make them.
In the middle of the mural of the partially built pyramid on their right was a physical door, taller than the mural itself, leading from this room to another.
The room they stood in was trapezoidal with the short wall toward the center of the temple, as if designed like a clock with each room a different hour mark. The narrow wall possessed a simple diagram of a pyramid. Lights from the ceiling illuminated the diagram.
Nico snapped a picture of the diagram. “Is this part of the trial?”
“Not sure.” Devika captured an image of the pyramid in construction. “They might be scenes of early Etaem life, like their history. We may need to refer to them later.”
Turning back to the main entrance, Devika found a giant image of a sun surrounding the doorway. Its rays appeared to leap off the wall.
“Which way?” Nico asked.
She shrugged. “I solved the first riddle. You pick.”
He grimaced. “Picking a direction doesn’t qualify as solving the next riddle.”
“How do you know?” she asked. “We know nothing about the Etaem or how they laid out this trial. The direction we choose determines how this trial unfolds initially, which may help or hinder our progress.”
“Maybe.” He studied the two doorways before choosing left, the one in the middle of the desert scene.
Dozens of people studied new animated murals in the next room, which also had the trapezoidal shape to it, seemingly confirming her theory that the place was arranged in a giant circle. Groups formed around four pedestals, one in each corner of the room.
The wall they’d just entered through showed a city flowing across a beach and down into the ocean. Rhombus-shaped pyramids lined the beach, the bottom half shown buried underground. Larger, connected rhombus-structures created a city underwater, surrounded by an artificial atmosphere. Etaem on the beach tended to livestock of sorts, while others in the ocean navigated the city in small ships. It represented a more technologically advanced society with indoor, underwater gardens and marketplaces.
The short wall at the center of this room depicted what closely resembled a fox. To Devika, it had nothing in common with anything else in the room.
While she’d been standing there taking it all in, Nico sidled around the room capturing more images. Devika debated helping him, but found her attention drawn to the crowded pedestal in the closest corner. More than a dozen people crowded around a bronze rhombus statue, which had some sort of writing on it. Unable to get close, Devika raised her wrist-comp above her head to capture an image of the statue. It took three digitally combined images to get a clear view of the text. As she set her wrist-comp to decipher it, she caught a snippet of discussion around her.
“Are the cities a metaphor?”
“It says ‘Cities without Etaem,’ but there’s not a single mural in this place that doesn’t have Etaem in it. I’ve checked.”
“That’s why it must be a metaphor.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
Devika’s wrist-comp dinged as it displayed: I have cities without Etaem.
She bit her bottom lip. It wasn’t much to go on.
Someone asked, “What if the cities and mountains are the same thing?”
Devika checked her wrist-comp again, then the rhombus statue for additional text. There was no reference to a mountain in her translation. Had she missed something?
She decided to ask two women consulting notes off to one side.
“Have you deciphered the text on the statue?” She projected her wrist-comp screen to share. “Mine just says ‘I have cities without Etaem.’ Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s the first part,” said the older of the two, her gray hair tied back in a bun.
“First part?”
“There’s three parts to the riddle.” The other woman, with a family resemblance to the first, pointed to two other corners.
“Oh! Thanks,” Devika said, feeling dumb. Of course there was more to the riddle. No wonder the corners were so crowded.
She moved to the next pedestal bearing a square statue with more writing. Rather than fight through this crowd, Devika raised her wrist-comp to get pictures when someone tapped her shoulder.
“I got it.” Nico showed her his wrist-comp. “It says ‘I have mountains without stone.’”
Devika frowned. “That’s more confusing than the first part.”
“What’s yours say?” Nico asked.
“I have cities without Etaem.”
A puzzled expression crossed his face. “A ghost town?”
She shrugged. “No idea, but someone suggested it’s a metaphor. They might both be.”
“Share with me.”
He held out his wrist-comp. She tapped hers against his and the two wrist-comps exchanged data, combining the two lines.
I have cities without Etaem.
I have mountains without stone.
“There’s supposed to be a third part.” She gestured to the woman who provided the clue.
They hurried past the beach-city mural to a pedestal with a cube statue. Nico stood on his toes to get a couple of shots of its inscription.
While they waited for the translation, Devika studied the cube. The statue also bore additional shapes resembling the outlines of continents, as if it was a globe. Perhaps a globe of the planet? With one vast southern continent and two medium-sized ones in the northern hemisphere.
“I have streams and rivers without fish,” Nico said.
“What?” Devika was only half listening. Something just out of reach tugged at her mind.
“The third part of the riddle.” He held his wrist-comp in front of her face. “I have streams and rivers without fish.”
Her concentration broken, Devika tapped her wrist-comp against his, then studied the three lines of the riddle.
I have cities without Etaem.
I have mountains without stone.
I have streams and rivers without fish.
“There’s the Dead Sea,” Nico said.
“That’s another Earth reference,” she argued. “Same with a ghost town. The Etaem are unlikely to have both concepts in their world. Or to have constructed their trials for those of us from Earth.”
“There must be a fourth part.” He pointed to the last corner, which held another statue.
“I don’t know,” she said. “The lady said there were three parts.”
He took the lead. “Let’s check it out, anyway.”
They approached the fourth bronze statue, this one of an Etaem. It leaned back on two legs while the remaining three pointed at the statues in the other three corners.
“There’s no more text,” Nico said.
“Brilliant observation,” a young man nearby deadpanned. He was older, perhaps university age, with blond hair and blue eyes. Two other young men lurked behind him.
“Let me guess, you’re here from the Space City Academy on your summer break,” the blond boy said.
Devika blinked her eye contacts once, and the name Adrian appeared on the blond boy’s chest.
“I bet they thought they’d just pop in, unprepared, to give the trial a go,” one of his comrades sneered. Little tufts of hair lined his face, as if he was trying to grow a beard. The name Falk appeared on his chest, thanks to the contacts.
“People have been tackling this trial for twenty years,” Vincent, the third boy, chimed in. “What makes you think you can solve it?”
“They must think they’re child prodigies.” Adrian’s upper lip curled in a wicked grin.
Vincent appraised them and shook his head “Nope. Don’t look like child prodigies.”
Devika crossed her arms and clenched her teeth.
“Run along to mummy and daddy,” Vincent added. “Ask them to figure it out and tell you.”
“Come back when you’re in the University.” Adrian puffed out his chest.
Devika shot back, “Did your daddies pay your way in?” Anand would be proud of that one.
Adrian invaded her space, flexing his muscles as he stared her down. Nico edged closer.
Devika didn’t give ground. “You don’t scare me.” Adrian wouldn’t do anything in front of all these people.
He grinned. “I don’t need to. This temple will do that all on its own.”
“Feeling threatened by my presence?”
“Ha! You’re no threat. What do I care if you waste your time looking at the pretty pictures?”
“Adrian, why harass my students?” Instructor Alyona Tereshkova emerged out of the crowd. Instructor Shyla Nez walked at her side, arms crossed behind his back.
“I just didn’t want them to waste their summer breaks, Instructor.” Adrian backed away from Devika.
Instructor Tereshkova’s tone turned icy. “How they spend summer break is not your business.”
Adrian shrugged. “No good deed....” He stalked off, the other two in tow.
“Don’t mind them.” Instructor Tereshkova focused on Devika and Nico. “They here because is cool thing with university students.”
“I’m fine,” Devika replied. They weren’t the first boys to attempt to intimidate her. She also knew they also wouldn’t be the last. However, they did serve as motivation.
“How are you enjoying trial?” Instructor Tereshkova’s face brightened to a smile. It was the first time Devika recalled her smiling. Even Instructor Nez, his posture stiff as a carbon steel alloy, beamed the way her father used to after a good fishing day.
Devika smiled in return. “It’s impressive.”
“It is wonderful,” Instructor Tereshkova agreed. “I’m glad when students take interest. I knew you are bright.”
“We just wanted to have some fun,” Nico demurred. “A getaway during summer break.”
Instructor Tereshkova frowned. “Don’t discount yourselves.”
“I’m definitely here to figure this out,” Devika said. At first she’d only come out of mild curiosity and to placate Anand, but now that she’d seen this place, she was hooked. There was no way she could just walk away from it.
“That’s right attitude. Care to join us? Combine resources?”
Devika bristled at the offer. “We can manage. We’re not helpless.”
Instructor Tereshkova appeared taken aback.
Devika wished she hadn’t spoken so hastily. The two were outstanding teachers.
Then Instructor Tereshkova glanced conspiratorially toward Adrian and his gang in front of the ocean-side mural. “I understand. You show them who has real brains.”
Devika offered a polite smile, but said nothing, not wanting to sound arrogant.
She heard Anand’s voice in her head. Show them they never should’ve messed with you.