ARITA
On warm nights, Arita liked to sleep on her open balcony in the fungus-reef city. In the dark silence, sapphire condorflies would buzz past, large iridescent insects with a wingspan as broad as her outstretched arms. Tiny fireflies like flitting stars sparkled throughout the canopy, and the undulating thrum of night insects made for a peaceful lullaby.
Her slumbers were not always quiet, though.
After a restless muddled sleep, Arita awoke on the balcony with a buzzing, bone-deep sound ringing through her body, like chimes, incomprehensible music unlike anything she had heard before. She saw nothing nearby, only the haze of sunrise seeping through the dense trees. She felt disoriented, still hearing the whispers of a dream inside her mind. She didn’t know what had happened, and it was fading from her sleep memory quickly.
She clearly recalled hearing a rushing sound of myriad voices speaking all at once inside her head, telling her important things that she could not now recall. Arita rubbed her eyes. She had seen visions of stars, rivers of suns along the arms of the Galaxy, nebulae shining in all the bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, like a primordial sea of the universe itself, giving birth to … something incomprehensible.
Her head ached now, and she was sure she had only seen the barest hint of what was out there trying to contact her. And amid that sense of indefinable wonder, she also felt a dread, a plea of some sort. Something desperately looking for help.
Ever since Ohro had hinted that Arita might be sensitive to some exotic and distant communication that had nothing to do with the verdani mind, she had hoped. The worldtrees had rejected her bid to become a green priest, but in doing so they had altered her thought patterns. After that painful disappointment, Arita wanted to believe she was special in a different way—but that didn’t make the idea true.
As she struggled awake on her soft balcony, listening to the stir of worldtree fronds in the breezes, she didn’t think her dream whispers came from the trees at all. No, something had spoken to her while her mind was vulnerable and unguarded, deep in the uncharted realm of sleep.
But the more she tried to remember, the faster it all slipped through her mental fingers. By the time Arita climbed to her feet, blinking in the faint colors of dawn, it was just an echo of a dream.
She stretched, rubbed her eyes, and wondered if she should tell Reyn. She had no secrets from her brother, and he would believe her unconditionally when she told him about the voices in her head. He wouldn’t call her crazy, even if she insisted that weighty whispers were trying to communicate with her.…
Later, she ate breakfast with her family out in the open, drinking steaming cups of klee as they looked out into the thick branches. Two condorflies swooped about in an aerial dance, like a pair of Remora fighter craft.
Several Onthos moved silently through the forest, preoccupied with unspecified obligations to the trees. Through telink, they communed with the worldtrees, shared their stories with the verdani mind, revealed many things about their lovely home planet, now destroyed. Arita was very interested in the proposed CDF and Solar Navy mission to the Gardeners’ original star system, wondering what they would find there.
As they finished breakfast and her parents prepared for Confederation meetings, a green priest appeared in the throne room, bearing a message. “Kennebar and a group of followers have flown in from the Wild. They’ve come to see the Gardeners.”
Arita’s heart skipped a beat as she thought of Collin, her first love—the young man she had intended to make a life with after they both became green priests. But no amount of friendship or romance could bridge the gulf between them now. She wondered if Collin had come back as part of the group with Kennebar. Maybe he was lonely. Maybe he wished he hadn’t gone so far from civilization—or her.
Recalling the obscure message and the ethereal music weaving through the back of her dream, she wondered if her mind was receptive to some form of communication that even the green priests could not hear. If it was, maybe would Collin stop pitying her. Arita just wished their relationship could go back to the way it was before.
Her brother squeezed her hand. Reyn seemed to know what she was thinking.
Kennebar and his followers flew in on small personal flyers. They dismounted on the canopy, stretching their sore muscles after the long flight. Their leader was tall and thin, and his face bore a hard expression. He was entirely dedicated to the worldforest, and he considered politics and personal interactions a low priority. The rest of his followers stood beside their leader, serious, humorless.
She brightened when she saw Collin among them. He tried to appear just as serious as his companions, but when he noticed Arita, a smile flashed across his face, though he covered it quickly.
As the King and Queen went out to meet Kennebar’s group, the nearby fronds rustled and dozens and dozens of Onthos pushed their way through the branches and leaves. Since they had scattered through the forest, Arita had not seen them all together at once. Now, there seemed to be a great many of them.
After briefly acknowledging the King and Queen, Kennebar turned his attention to Ohro. “The verdani informed us you were here.”
The gathered Onthos pressed closer to the isolationist green priests. “Yes, and the trees have told us about the Wild,” Ohro said. The other Gardeners murmured their assent.
Kennebar regarded the aliens, then turned back to Peter and Estarra. “We green priests exist to serve the worldforest. The verdani tell us these are our brothers in the trees. We want to give them sanctuary—in the Wild.”
“What do you mean?” Peter asked. “They are safe here.”
Arita kept looking at Collin, but the young man tried to remain serious as he stood among his fellow green priests. None of the others spoke a word, letting their leader do the talking.
Kennebar continued, “The Wild is vast and unsettled, and our group tends the neediest trees, but the worldforest requires help. We invite the Gardeners to join us, to settle in a new home. The trees have already welcomed you, and you will belong there.”
“We do long for a new home, a place we can settle and fulfill our destiny,” said Ohro. “We have been uprooted for so many years.” The Gardeners all remained silent for a moment, as if communing, then their leader said, “Yes, we will come. The Wild needs our tending.”
In unison, the Onthos bowed to the King and Queen. “We thank you for the reception you offered us, but our calling is to go to that continent. These green priests will help us, but the worldtrees will help us more.”
Kennebar seemed pleased with himself. Collin shot a glance at Arita, but before she could smile at him, he flicked his eyes away.
* * *
After the decision was made, Kennebar kept tight control of his group as he arranged to transport the refugee aliens to the unsettled continent. The isolationist priests seemed to have no interest in socializing with old friends from the fungus-reef city, much to Arita’s disappointment.
She never even had a chance to speak with Collin. She missed him terribly, and not just in a romantic way. He had been her friend. Couldn’t he at least speak with her? Did Kennebar’s aloof followers really need to reject all ties with their past? It saddened her.
Without saying any farewells, the taciturn green priests returned to their flyers and departed in a rush from the canopy, accompanied by larger transports provided by the King and Queen to take the Onthos. As they all left, Arita felt a flicker of heartache and disappointment as she saw Collin among them, studiously ignoring her. She remembered her handsome and funny young companion, who had now become a complete stranger to her. As the large group rose up from the treetops, Arita opened her mouth to call out to him, but the group flew off in a buzzing squadron of small ships.
In the last moment, Collin looked over his shoulder, met her gaze—and she was sure she saw longing there, a deep hurt. But since he had avoided her attempts at conversation, Arita thought it might just be her imagination, like those distant ethereal voices that came to her in dreams.
Understanding, her mother placed a warm consoling hand on her shoulder. Queen Estarra didn’t need to say any words. A lump formed in Arita’s throat, but she pulled in a deep breath, fought back the sadness. “I … I have to study some of the notes from my last specimen-collecting expedition in the Wild. I’m going back to my chambers.” She hurried away.
Before she could even spread out her notes, however, a minor Confederation functionary appeared at the doorway of her room. “Excuse me, Princess. I have a message for you. I don’t exactly know why he gave it to me.” The clerk held out a piece of paper covered with handwritten words. “One of Kennebar’s young green priests handed this to me and urged me to pass it on to you. He didn’t seem to want the others to see.” The clerk shook his head. “He could have just used telink. I don’t understand.”
Arita’s heart leapt as she took the note. “I’m sure he has his reasons.” She thanked the functionary and hurried to read the message.
“I needed to send you a private letter, Arita,” Collin wrote. “If I sent it through telink, then all green priests could hear. Kennebar would know. And I wanted this just between us.” She was so surprised that she felt tears stinging her eyes.
“I have to write this quickly—the others watch me closely. I wish I had never gone with them. I wish I could have stayed with you. I miss you, Arita. I miss telling you my thoughts and listening to yours—just two people discovering each other. If I’d known we would be separated, I never would have taken the green. My heart believes we belong together, but I am trapped by duty. I’m also worried. Something is wrong in the Wild. Something’s very wrong with the worldforest mind. I don’t dare use telink to explain.
“Please come and see for yourself. This is important—I’m sure I’m not imagining it. But who will believe me? Come to the Wild—soon.”
The note abruptly cut off as if Collin were afraid of being caught.
Arita read and reread the note, experiencing both joy and concern. She felt the weight of worry, and she knew what she had to do.
She began making plans for another expedition to the Wild.