Chapter 04 | Starbuilders

"What you do?" Nothaar probed with concern. "Ifu and Syraaq do something bad? How fix?"

Instead of answering him, Syraaq changed the subject - as she seemed quite apt at doing - by querying, "You've said a term a few times now, and I'm wondering what it is. This 'Sky Shift' that you've mentioned, could you explain to me exactly what that means?"

Feeling whiplash at the sudden alteration in topic, Nothaar decided that he should answer Syraaq's inquest for now. Eventually, he figured, he would get all his questions answered, too. That resolved, he also knew that he could retake control of the conversation and pull some details out of these two. "Me be Keeper of the Knowledge. Syraaq and Ifu understand?"

In response, Syraaq and Ifu looked at each other in what Nothaar interpreted as confusion, though it was not how he himself would have rendered such an expression. They both made the same gesture that Nothaar also did not recognize, but reckoned that it meant that they were unsure. As such, he continued. "Keeper is job. Most job of people in village get food, make tool, protect, do acts that easy to see how stay alive. Keeper in all village. Learn all can, use what learn make life better. Tell stories, record history, observe world. Not all see Keeper be useful. Must train from old Keeper, be given title of Keeper. Many rules, many traditions. Hard work."

"I think I get the gist of it," Ifu offered. "You're some type of scholar, teacher, historian, philosopher, mathematician, priest, administrator, and a slew more of tasks and responsibilities. Basically, anything not related to the immediate survival of your village. Because what you do is not tangible, the other denizens often don't think you do anything valuable."

"Me no understand most word," Nothaar conceded, "but me think you get idea. Have Keeper in Ifu village?"

"Umm…" Ifu said as he appeared to be trying to find the right terminology, much to Nothaar's delight. Anything that knocked Ifu off kilter would be useful for Nothaar's purposes of controlling the flow of data. "Yes, sort of, but not in one person. Where I'm from, you could say that most people do the work of a Keeper. Even then, they would focus, specialize, in just one of those activities."

"Where I'm from, too," Syraaq acknowledged.

Nothaar gave them a quizzical look before declaring, "No possible most people be Keeper. Most people no want be Keeper, but most people need do work for food, for shelter, for safety. If all Keeper, how eat?"

"Let's just say food isn't really an issue back at our homesteads," Syraaq dismissed Nothaar's concerns. "Now, we get what a Keeper is, so how does that relate to the Sky Shift?"

Nothaar plastered on a relaxed mannerism to hide his true reaction. This one is wily, he thought. Syraaq saw right through my technique and threw it back at me. I guess I have no choice but to be cautious. If I keep things directed towards Ifu, I'll probably have a better chance of acquiring the information I seek.

With this plan in mind, Nothaar turned away from Syraaq and inquired, "Ifu, you know what you want do with life when you small?"

An expression that Nothaar could only surmise was sadness came over Ifu. Interesting, Nothaar mused, I wonder what that's about? I've hit on some nerve and regret. As if in answer to these thoughts, Ifu declared, "Yeah, I thought I did, but I was wrong."

I was spot on, Nothaar internally gloated. Instead of pursuing that path, though, Nothaar expounded, "Me want be Keeper before me know what Keeper was and do. As small Nothaar, me begin track stars on own, Old Keeper notice, take small Nothaar on as apprentice."

"That's quite an impressive feat for a young boy to decide to undertake on his own," Syraaq announced with gusto. "Not everyone would be willing to look up and keep track of everything happening above them."

"Be no very hard," Nothaar countered. "Very few number stars, can follow all. Wandering stars most easy, make patterns all… year."

"Wandering stars?" Ifu asked in bewilderment.

"He means planets and other large local celestial bodies," Syraaq translated. "He just doesn't realize it."

It was now Nothaar's turn to show his confusion as he delved into Syraaq's words, "What mean? What be 'plan-it'? What 'cell-est-tail'? Please explain. Me need understand so me can speak Language of Children… Lingua… good. Is necessary so me can help all, fix mistake Syraaq and Ifu say they make."

Once again avoiding giving him a direct response, Syraaq instead summarized, "So, when you were young, you started tracking the stars overhead. Thus, twenty years ago, you quickly noticed a sudden change. The stars you had known your entire life were gone and replaced with a whole new set. More so, most of the stars became the wandering type. Whereas before there were only a few of them, now almost all of them were wandering stars. Does that about cover all of it?"

Shocked at having it all laid out so plainly without him having to explain it, Nothaar could only make a gesture of agreement.

"I'm afraid I don't know what that particular gesticulation you are making means," Syraaq asserted. "You'll have to use your words."

"Yes," Nothaar agreed, "Syraaq understand all about stars, say everything right. But me learn something new, too, about language. Tongue not just words, tongue also movement of body, hands, face. Me believe all movement same all people, but not Syraaq and Ifu. You no understand Nothaar, me no understand you. Words not enough. Much more to do. Me no notice children doing different movements until Syraaq and Ifu start doing. Now think back, see same in story in head. Have to update opus."

The color left Syraaq's face and she suddenly appeared ill. Turning to her companion she said, "Ifu, this is terrible. We shouldn't contaminate this place any further. It goes against everything we believe in, all we're fighting for. You were the one who convinced this obstinate old fool that what she'd been doing her entire life was wrong. Wouldn't allowing this be far worse?"

Something is off, Nothaar contemplated with apprehension. I thought that Syraaq was in charge and commanding the young Ifu, but their roles are actually reversed, just like the seasons between the north and the south. Syraaq has apparently gone through some crisis of faith and has found a new religion in whatever it is that Ifu is preaching. She's looking to him for direction and guidance; he's the real ringleader here.

"No, Syraaq," a suddenly more confident Ifu pronounced. "Don't you see the opportunity right in front of us? Nothaar is already beyond 'contaminated', and he did it to himself, all on his own. We had nothing to do with it, which is exactly what I've been saying all along! He's the perfect specimen for everything we have talked about. If he came back with us…"

"Back with us?!" Syraaq abruptly interrupted. "Ifu, you impetuous dupe; we can't take a non-Common back with us. Heck, there's no way we can possibly get anywhere ourselves right now, anyway. Even if our vessel were not a complete wreck, Torch Drive Ships were only designed for traveling in interstellar space; they have no capabilities to get off planet."

"Syraaq, Ifu, please slow down!" Nothaar pleaded. "Me no can understand all words. No nice to do to me, no nice to speak of Nothaar like Nothaar no here."

Chuckling to herself, Syraaq verbalized, "Well, he's certainly got us there; we are being incredibly rude! Nothaar, on both of our behalves, we apologize. You are an obviously very bright and learned… person. That said, I fear that Ifu is right about you. You, perhaps, are too smart for your own good. Now that you've seen us and talked to us, I don't think we'll ever be able to let you go."

At this pronouncement, Syraaq pulled an object from her own belt that looked similar to the one Ifu had, but with some small noticeable differences. Nothaar did not have enough time to appreciate them, though, as he briefly saw something come flying out of the hole in the front of the item, followed shortly by a pinch in his chest. And then, there was nothing but blackness.

The above piece is an excerpt from the speculative hard science fiction novel Starbuilders by J.P. Prag, available at booksellers worldwide. Learn more about the author at www.jpprag.com.

Twenty years ago, the stars above Nothaar Akii's head suddenly changed.

Christening it the Sky Shift, Nothaar found that this event was merely the harbinger of a devastating metamorphosis that was about to befall his world. More than anything, though, it impacted the children. Newborns came out of the womb with strange physical features, far different than anything seen before. As they grew up, the youths intuitively spoke a tongue that no one else understood. After learning these conditions were not isolated to his far northern village, Nothaar set out on a long journey of discovery, taking him all the way to the southernmost tip of the land.

With his expedition seemingly completed, Nothaar decided to retrace his steps and share his discoveries with everyone he had encountered along the way. However, those plans were quickly waylaid when he chanced upon a gift that had come crashing down from the heavens. Expecting just to find a rock filled with rare and valuable resources, he instead met Syraaq Sec and Ifuwukoogeeq. The mysterious duo not only spoke the Language of Children fluently, but also possessed knowledge far beyond Nothaar's comprehension.

And then they declared Nothaar was the key to unraveling a great injustice, one that had been perpetrated upon his people and many others by the Starbuilders.

Starbuilders is a work of mixed fiction and nonfiction elements. With the fiction elements, any names, characters, places, events, and incidents that bear any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental. For the nonfiction elements, no names have been changed, no characters invented, no events fabricated except for hypothetical situations.