The G. M. Os. - 2. Chapter 2 - The Temple

The G. M. Os.
Chapter 2
Ship Clock 262003
Li 32-413f
The Temple

As usual the day was warm and, of course, there wasn’t a gray cloud in the sky. There were never any clouds in the artificial sky. Li, thirteenth iteration age 12, walked along a path from her residence toward the Temple of the Golden Cock where for the past month or so she had been meditating mostly to learn how she could have an active role in the temple, but, also, partly to exorcise the ghosts her brother put there. He was always mean to her; he didn’t care how she felt or what she wanted to do in her future. He wanted to be a professional futbol player; she had her heart set on being a priestess in the temple.

They didn’t have priestesses now, but there always had to be first one and she wanted to be that person. One day, when she was twelfth iteration age ten there had been no one else in the temple. There was, what looked like an ancient book, really more of a tome, but when she opened it she saw it was filled with sticklike characters that she had never seen before and therefore could not read. Back at her residence, Li signed onto her module and looked through the public databases until she found the Order of the Golden Cock, and that led her to a discussion about the book and those strange characters, which turned out to be runes. There were databases where you could learn how to read the runes. After learning all she thought was possible there only one thing to do, return to the temple and read the book. There she found the Tale of the Rock Crystal in the Cave of the Dead. First, it said she had to go to a col, whatever that was, between the mountains and follow a path down to the entrance of the cave where there was a door. The runes weren’t too specific on how to open it, but what could be so difficult about opening a door? After all, the runes were very specific about the journey starting at the col; but from then on there was talk about shards of the crystal, runes that gave instructions, something about a tree, a bridge over a dark brook filled with the blood of wayward seekers of the crystal, and the path to the door; but there just wasn’t anything about how to open the door. Once inside there was a dark tunnel leading to some steps down to the cave. Then the tale got fuzzy, again. There were no instructions on how to cross a river to the island where the Rock Crystal stood. That was where one prayed to the Rock Crystal, but there was also something about an orb, a scepter, and a sword on other islands. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with them. She assumed it was all about the Rock Crystal. Supposedly, it carried the power to take over one’s destiny. She would use it to become a priestess of the Temple of the Golden Cock.

When Li reached the monastery’s gate and she rang the bell. Of course no one came; no one ever came even when she first visited to see what it was all about. She had been coming for a year now to learn how to meditate and felt ready to attempt the journey to the Rock Crystal. She opened the gate and quietly closed it behind her; she walked up the flagstone path to a gold colored rooster. It was about two and a half meters high; a small sign beside it said that the cock had been carved out of a large, bot manufactured block of granite. It looked like it was covered with paint that obviously had to be redone on occasion. That was supposed to be Golden Cock, but to Li it really looked like an ordinary chicken.

She went into the temple to the conifer paneled meditation room and lit a strand of sandalwood incense. Sitting down on a mat woven from reeds, she assumed the lotus position. Shutting her eyes, Li concentrated on two mountains with a col between them. She focused on the col until in her mind she saw herself standing at the top so she could look down into a valley far below. There was a rock post with runes carved vertically on it. She stared at the runes until their meaning came to her. She bowed her head and accepted the welcome the runes offered. There was a stone path leading down the side of the mountain on her left. Concentrating on her breathing, she followed the path for the longest time. There were more posts that said to not waver from her journey down the mountain.

Finally, Li came to a cavity on the mountain beside a flat place where runes were carved and said, “Welcome traveler, sit and rest, your journey has just begun. Behold where a rock crystal was removed from this place. We offer a shard. Take it to the Tree.”

In her mind, Li stood up and went to the cavity where pieces of what looked like rock crystals were scattered about; some were still embedded in the mountain. She touched one; it felt loose so she pulled on it. Suddenly, she became aware of a touch on her shoulder.

“Well, if it isn’t our little priestess,” her brother, Hu, said behind her back.

“I was meditating,” she said. She wanted to go back, but, obviously, that would have to be on another day.

“Someone sent a message saying you’ve been sitting here for hours. It’s past time to come home for supper. I was sent to collect you. Nanny is out in the cruiser. Luckily for you tomorrow is a school day, so you won’t be able to come back here until next weekend. Maybe our father won’t let you come back at all.”

“I have to come back. I have to complete my journey.”

“What journey?” He sneered. “Are you tripping on that incense?”

“Did you change it?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Then, who did?” Who indeed? She’d never seen anyone in the Temple, but who changed the incense. Yes, she must’ve been here for a long, long time. She unlocked her legs and stood up. In a brief moment, her mind returned to that shard in the side of the mountain.

“Hey! You have to leave, now!” Hu exclaimed.

********

“Li! Get up, it’s past nine,” Nanny said loudly.

“Where’s Mother and Father?” Li asked.

“They took your brother to his futbol game in the city; they will be gone for hours,” Nanny said. “It’s Stefansday, not Diosday. You have a big adventure ahead so get out of bed now. I’ll fix you some breakfast and then take you to the temple in the speeder. What would you like to eat?”

“Two soft boiled eggs and toast,” Li said. Her stomach growled at the thought.

“If you are able to join that order, you won’t be able to eat eggs.”

“Then kanji,” Li said. It was just rice gruel, but with slices of dried ham, the way she liked it, meant she’d have a good breakfast for her journey. “I’ll take a shower while it’s cooking.”

“Hurry, it won’t take long for the food prep to deliver it,” Nanny said. “With milk and sugar?”

“Yes, please, and ham. And, please tell Cook to prepare slowly until I’m ready. I’ll eat it hot.”

“That’s my good girl.”

Soon after breakfast, Nanny stopped the speeder at the monastery’s gate and Li got out.

“I’ll be back in five hours,” Nanny said. “If you finish before that, start walking back along the path.”

After ringing the bell, Li waited a moment to see if anyone was going to come and challenge her entrance to the temple. Unexpectedly, she saw a monk come out of the Temple and walk toward the gate.

“You again,” he said. He was taller than most people and had lighter hair. He must be a mutant, put here by the bots to prevent him from socializing with the general population who would find him abhorrent to their sense of oneness.

“I came to meditate,” she said. She tried to sound in earnest, but was afraid, since he was here, she would not be admitted.

“You can meditate at home,” he said. He started to turn to go back to the Temple.

“No, I tried that, it doesn’t work.”

“Okay, I’ll tell the abbot you’re here,” he said as he opened the gate. “You read the book, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, meekly. She followed him toward the Temple, but had to walk faster than usual to keep up. “I saw that it was written in runes, so I learned how to read them; the bots even gave me a primary degree for learning an ancient Earth language. When I came back and found the Tale of the Cave of the Dead, I decided to try to follow the path. Have you read it?”

“We’ve all read it,” he said when he stopped at the door. “You were interrupted the other day. How far did you get?”

“The cavity where the crystal was taken from the mountain, it was my brother. I missed supper.”

“Brothers are like that. I have three, I’m the youngest. If you need to use the privy, it’s around that corner. Relieve yourself or you won’t get past the tree. I will set out the incense.”

“It was you who replaced it.”

“I take care of the temple.”

“What’s the significance of the tree?”

“You will have to find out that for yourself,” he said. He went inside the temple while she walked over to where a privy stood beside the temple wall.

After she sat on the mat and assumed the lotus position, Li shut her eyes and began to concentrate on the crystal cavity. Unexpectedly, she found herself at the top of the col looking down at the valley. It was lightly snowing. She turned toward the post and read new runes. They said: “Fool!” She stared at it and wondered how it changed, which, unfortunately, broke her concentration and terminated her attempt to go back. She shut her eyes took a deep breath and returned to the col. The post again called her a fool. Now, there was a light wind blowing the snow around her, which settled on the path down to the cavity. Unfortunately, in her haste to get down she paid little attention to where she put her feet. She slipped on the icy snow once and nearly fell off the mountain. With a strong beating heart, she moved closer to the rock wall on her left and watched where she put her feet.

Finally, she reached the cavity and saw the shard she almost took before her brother interrupted her. She looked at the runes and they had been changed, too. They said: “Fool! You departed before taking a shard. Beware of the blizzard! Now take your shard and go to the Tree.” She pulled the shard she selected from the mountain and heard a loud moan as if she had hurt someone.

Li continued down the path until the wind stopped blowing and the snow turned to a soft rain, which stopped when she reached the bottom. The tree, which one? There were trees all over and leaves covered the ground. There were so many that any sign of the path was obliterated, but there seemed to be something about the trees. The ones on the left didn’t grow close to the trees on the right. Could it be that the path went between them? Something told her to look for the largest tree in the forest. Right or left, possibly a large tree on each side, but which side of the gap? Something else told her to look on the right. On ancient Earth there were a people called Romans whose language said the left side was sinister or of the devil. She walked along the gap until coming to what looked like the largest tree she’d ever seen. Was it an oak? She’d read of people on ancient Earth who worshipped oaks. Was this the tree in the book?

She walked over to the tree and saw a slab of rock embedded in the bark. There were runes carved on the smooth surface. They said: “Welcome traveler. Place your shard in the hole and wait for the truth of your journey.” Li took the shard and held it against the hole. It fit perfectly. Suddenly a stiff wind descended on the forest and it blew the dried leaves toward the left side of the gap revealing a stone path. She pulled the shard from the tree and followed the path to a small footbridge over a dark brook of red tinted water. Once across it she could see a spine of rock descending the wall of the valley. Barely perceivable, there was a wooden door set into the base of the spine. When she reached the door, she put her shard against a hole on the right side. It was quickly pulled out of her hand and the door slowly opened. Once inside and the door loudly snapped shut.

Li felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. The monk from earlier stood beside her.

“Were you able to enter the door?” The monk asked.

“Yes, the door shut behind me,” she said as she rose to her feet.

“Good, you will return there when you come back next week.”

“Have you been there?”

“No, none of us have, but we know of the experience. You have been here six strikes of the hour; your nanny is outside the gate waiting for you. When you become older you will not be allowed here. Only men are allowed to worship in the Temple of the Golden Cock.”

“I could have a separate compound with a vegetable garden.”

“You are determined in your endeavor. I will talk to the abbot. Maybe it is time we added on to the Temple for women who wish to worship our gods. A separate compound is a good idea. As I said, I will talk to the abbot, but he may just not allow you to come back. He is a hard man; he wasn’t too happy you are here today. There are also the bots. This is their land, this is their ship. We are just cargo.”

********

“Well, young lady, I suppose you were at that temple, again,” Li’s father, Henry 57, said as she walked into the residence.

“Of course, I go there every weekend to meditate.”

“The Spring Planting Fair is this Carlosday and Stefansday, you will be there to be in our booth. Plus, you will not go to that temple on Diosday. If you need to meditate, do it at home.”

“Hu will stop me, he always does, and I need some sandalwood incense to help me concentrate. A reed mat would be nice, too, maybe someone will be selling them at the fair. I’m at a critical juncture in my meditation practice, so I will need no interruptions.”

“I will have a bot install a lock on your door and I will speak with Hu. Besides, if he wants to be a pro futbol striker he has his own interests. He’s good, but not good enough to get the attention of the pro leagues. If he’s not careful he’ll stay in the amateur ranks. I don’t think he’s planned on that. I’ll speak to him. Why do you think it is important for you to go to the temple?”

“If I complete my meditations correctly, I may have a chance to join the order as a priestess. I feel it is my destiny.”

“Well, I’ll let you go next Diosday, but you must plan on staying here to meditate from then on. We have a farm and it needs workers. You will help on Stefansdays and Diosday afternoons. I’m sure the bots can find something for you to do.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“That’s my good girl,” he said. He patted her head, as fathers tend to do.

He turned and returned to the living room where she saw him turn on the house module. Li sighed and went into her room, closed the door, and turned on her module and accessed the bot public databases. She typed in Cave of the Dead and watched the tulip slowly turn until quite unexpectedly a list of available documents came onto the screen. She selected the first item and began to read about the legend of the cave. It was obvious from the beginning this entry was not written by a bot. Someone had been there and returned with the knowledge of a lifetime. It didn’t say exactly what his final position in life was, but possibly it involved writing this document or relating it to someone else who put it down on the records. After she finished reading she noticed it was actually written in runes. Her brain had unconsciously translated it. She would have to return here and read it more carefully; maybe it would tell her what she needed to know about how to get from the door to the Rock Crystal on the island.

Li flipped back to the previous screen and selected the second item. Of course, it, too, was written in runes, which said:

Pray for the Boatman

Godfred was a failed knight. He came to the Cave of the Dead to change his destiny. As a knight he did not pray. He trained for action not the priesthood.

Godfred stood on the shore of the River of the Dead looking across at the Rock Crystal. He ignored the other islands to his doom. The river was swift, but Godfred was a failed knight, he cared not.

Pray for the Boatman

Attempting to step into the river he slipped on the smooth rock. Armor did not help the failed knight. River sucked him under and his armor clattered along the bottom.

Pray for the Boatman

Godfred died in the river and was swept under the arch in the Crystal Wall and his body dropped over the falls. Godfred was never seen again.

Pray for the Boatman

It is Godfred’s destiny to forever pole the boat to the islands. He now knows the way to the island of your desire. Do not sway him from his task. Pray for Godfred or you will be swept over the falls.

Li sat back and stared at the screen. Godfred was the boatman? What was this about a swift flowing river? None of that was in the book at the temple; or, at least it wasn’t in any part of the book she had read. Maybe she should’ve read more.

Li turned off the module and went to the kitchen to speak with Cook. She wanted to take a walk to figure out what was going on with the tale. It didn’t make any sense and what was the threat of being swept over the falls? Would Godfred push her out of the boat if she told him to go to the island of the Rock Crystal first? Would anything actually happen to her since she was only there through her mind; her physical presence would always be in the temple, not in the cave.

“Cook, when is supper?” Li asked the bot.

“The same time as always,” Cook said. “As usual, I will prepare Stefansday supper.”

“Then I have two and a half hours.”

“Don’t go too far away or Henri 57 will be angry.”

“I’ll set the alarm on my watch. Oh yes, what are we having?”

“Roast beef, baked potatoes, green beans, yellow squash, and a garden salad.”

“Oh,” Li said as she turned away. She didn’t like roast beef; Hu must have asked for it. No one ever asked her what she wanted. It was always, “Hu, what do you want for Stefansday supper?” By the gods, she hated Hu. It was always, “I’m going to be a famous pro striker and make lots of credits. You’re not going to be nothing more than nothing. Those monks in the Temple of the Golden Dick don’t allow women because they’re a bunch of homosexuals.”

He was always, always saying that they were homosexuals, but what did that mean and how did he know that? Or, was he just being an obnoxious brother, like always.

When Li almost got to the front door and Henry57 came out of the living room and said, “And, where are you going?”

“Out for a walk, I set the alarm on my watch. I’ll be back in time for supper.”

“Okay, don’t go too far so you can’t get back.”

“I’m only going to the top of the hill.”

“The farm bots are up there weeding the corn, it’s tall enough now. Stay out of their way.”

“I will. I’m not stupid; I live on a farm with bots all over the place. Other than Nanny and Cook, they’re just a bunch of pushy robots.”

She opened the door and walked out. Two farm bots stood beside the house, plugged into power outlets to recharge their batteries. Why they didn’t have long term ones like Nanny, Cook, and a lot of other bots she’d encountered in her short life, was beyond understanding.

At the base of the hill, the bots in the corn field could be clearly seen near the top in the corn rows. She walked over to the next path that led up to near the top, but high enough to meditate on that tale about the failed knight. She couldn’t go there now because there had to be something about how to pray for Godfred. Then there was the part of the drowning in the river, going over the falls, and never being seen again, but how was he the boatman if he was dead? That sounded absolutely scary. Was he a ghost or something worse like a skeleton with empty eyes? How does one pray for a dead person?

At the top of the path, Li sat on the dirt, assumed the lotus position, and emptied her mind. She concentrated on what might be the shape of the Rock Crystal based on the shape of the empty place in the mountain. As hard as she tried the only vision was a skeleton in rusty armor poling a small boat along a dark river in a dimly lit cave. Altering her focus, the boatman poled the boat to the shore. He beckoned, pointing at the only seat in the boat. She got in and the boat was pushed back out into the river. Instead of crossing directly to the Rock Crystal island as she wanted, much to her consternation the boat headed toward another island, the one with the orb hanging without support about a meter and a half above the rock surface. As she was about to step out of the boat the alarm on her watch sounded, breaking her concentration.

Li opened her eyes and stood up, slapped dirt from the seat of her pale yellow coveralls, and started back to the residence. So, she couldn’t go to the Rock Crystal island first. Did she have to go to all the islands first? Why? It was the Rock Crystal that held her destiny, not the orb, scepter, or sword. Why did she have to go to those islands? This was becoming too confusing, but how was she going to get to the tunnel leading to the Cave of the Dead? To her, now, that was the important thing or was she going to have to figure that out for herself, too? This whole endeavor was becoming more difficult than she originally thought.

********

The following Diosday Nanny took Li to the temple. Before she got out, Nanny said: “I will be back in five hours. Please be ready to return to the residence.”

“I’ll try.”

“If you’re not outside in five hours, I will go back without you. If you are late for supper, Henry57 will be angry, again.”

“Okay, I’ll ask the monk to wake me. But, I might not be out until a few minutes after. I don’t think they have regular clocks here.”

“Set the alarm on your watch.”

“I didn’t bring it because it might be a distraction.”

Li turned and went to the gate where, as usual, she rang the bell to announce her wish to enter. She waited for the monk to arrive, but was surprised to see a different man come out of the temple. He seemed to walk quickly to the gate. He was older than the monk, but not so old he had gray hair. Oddly, he had a small eagle tattooed on the left side of his forehead.

“You’re back, Brother Cedric said you’d be back, but I hoped you wouldn’t,” the man said. Closer, Li saw he was a large man and tall like the monk.

“I must complete my journey to the Rock Crystal.”

“You can do that at your residence. I’m Father Benjamin, abbot of this monastery. Girls and women are not welcome here, especially those who think they can become a priestess of this order. If you want to become a nun, talk to the Benedictines or Cistercians. They have convents on other rings. I don’t know of any other orders that have women. Our order definitely doesn’t have women. Go home little girl and meditate there if you must. You can never come back here.”

“But.”

“No buts, Brother Cedric said you believed it was your destiny to become a priestess here. That has gotten him moved back to the hog and cattle pens, so he may contemplate his error in thinking we would ever allow women. You can find a different destiny. Now, go away, little girl, and never come back!”

Li stared at the abbot, who turned and walked back toward the temple. What a hard man she thought, but what was the significance of the eagle. Feeling defeated before she had a chance to get to the Rock Crystal, Li turned around and began the long walk home.

After a little more than four klicks she came to the start of her stepparents’ farm and saw a bot working on one of the irrigation lines in the currant field. Unexpectedly, the bot turned and stared with mechanical eyes. It rose and flew to where Li stood.

“We heard you were turned away from the temple,” the bot said. “I will call the speeder and take you to the residence.”

“Sure, fine,” Li said. How did they know the abbot wouldn’t let her in the gate? Did he put her on a bot list as being a danger to the peace of the ship? She’d heard of that. People like that just disappeared, never to come back. How would the bots kill her? Would they do it quick or maybe take their time torturing with pain until she died from exhaustion? No, it was foolish to think like that. The temple obviously had bots who reported to their superiors that she was attempting to join by coming there to meditate. She just had to tell Father to have the bots install the lock on her door and she’d meditate at home.

The problem was, now she really had to find a new vocation. Humans had to do something that benefited the ship. The only other option would be to leave home at age sixteen or seventeen and join a commune, but that was over a thousand years from now. Maybe going back to the Cave of the Dead might help her decide where her future really lay. She had a week to go through the documents on the bot public databases and find out if there was anything about how to pray for Godfred, but that was doubtful considering there wasn’t anything about the tree, the door, how to get down to the cave, or the significance of the three other islands.

There was an unusual four-place speeder in the parking lot when the bot dropped Li off at the residence. Three bots came out the front door and blocked her from going inside.

“Li 32-413f?” The bot closest asked.

“Yes.”

“You will come with us.”

“Why?”

“No questions, no talking, resistance will not be tolerated. Make it easy on yourself human, come with us peaceably.”

Li didn’t answer. Obviously, she was right. The authorities had found out about her meditating and wanting to be a priestess at the temple and were taking action. One thing she did notice, though, was that all the farm bots were standing in front of the equipment shed. Something more was going on, but now was not the time to do anything about it. Waiting was her only chance. She hoped the family was okay.

********

“Li 32-413f?” A man asked as he walked into the room she had been taken to in handcuffs and shackles on her ankles. After being picked up by the bots she expected to be kept by them, but they brought her to this facility that was run by humans and now had no idea what was going on.

“Yes.”

“I am John 57-443g, your interrogator. You were picked up for violating Bot Regulation 67a3c47a, Acts of Sedition and Willful Disregard for Bot Stipulations for the Good Order of an Interstellar Human Cargo Spaceship. You will answer my questions as I ask them. Do not attempt to lie or create falsehoods based on your practices of meditation. Enough damage has already been done.”

“What damage have I done?” she asked. She hadn’t done any damage. Sure, the bots were standing outside the equipment shed, but that didn’t mean she broke something.

“Father Benjamin and Brother Cedric at the temple and your family have been killed by the bots for listening to your seditious blather and not reporting it to the proper authorities. Now, to prevent serious action against yourself, I suggest you cooperate with this interrogation.”

“They’re all dead?” She asked with an air of disbelief that quickly led to soft weeping.

“Yes.”

“No!” she cried and began sobbing uncontrollably.

After a while, he handed her some tissues and said, “Take these and compose yourself. This will go a lot better if you do not break down again.”

Li blew her nose, wiped the tears from her eyes and face, and stared at him. Dead, all dead, because of her foolish desire to become something that was impossible to achieve, all caused by reading a religious book meant for something other than what she thought. And, now, obviously death stared her in the face. Was that to be her fate?

“When did you first get the idea to begin meditating on the Book of the Dead of the Men of the Golden Cock,” the interrogator asked.

“Around eight years ago, I was in the temple and saw the book. I noticed it was written in stick-like characters. The way they looked like twigs intrigued me. So, I, um, investigated that kind of writing and found out they were runes, possibly written by ancient humans on Earth, which surprised me because I didn’t think it was possible for such an old document to have come down intact through the ages since that time. I found some public databases that I could access that had instructions on how to read and translate runes. I studied those documents for a long time until the bots gave me a primary degree for learning an ancient human language. I guess they supposed I was going to pursue further degrees in that field because I’m good at old languages, but I went back to the temple and over the course of several months read the book until I came to the part about the Cave of the Dead. Then I studied how to meditate. That was when being only a third iteration age eleven girl finally led me to think the book might give me some instructions on how to live my future life. I was foolish to assume it was a logical set of instructions and not a religious book. Now, I’m responsible for the deaths of my family and those two men at the temple. What is to become of me?”

“Please stay seated, I will be back in a moment,” the interrogator said, standing. “You are being watched and any movement might be taken by the bots as an attempt to escape, which could lead to more serious consequences.”

“I’ll stay put. I’m in enough trouble already.”

The interrogator returned in a few minutes with a portable module. He sat back down on his chair and slid the module over in front of her. He said, “Read your confession carefully. If you agree it is an accurate representation of what you said, you will indicate your agreement and it will be forwarded to the court.”

It was everything she said, except, of course, the part at the end. She pressed her finger on the appropriate spot and two guards came in put the handcuffs and shackles back on. Once back in her cell, she broke down and cried. If death could come, she would welcome it now.

Three days later two guards came into the cell, cuffed and shackled her and escorted out the door. She walked between them and paid little attention to where they were leading her. She was so depressed she cared little about anything. They went into a room where there was a large vid on a wall with a camera beside it. They put her in a chair and said to stay seated.

The vid came on showing a courtroom. Li looked at it with disinterest. An officer of the court stood and told everyone to stand, so she stood up. Then he told everyone to sit, except said for her to remain standing. An old man came into the court and sat behind a low wooden desk on the dais.

“Li 32-413f, having your confession to Sedition, I hereby sentence you to three months community service and fifteen years bot supervised probation. As there is an orphanage and school for young girls on Ring 3, you will live there until you reach majority,” the old man said. “Have a good life going forward.”