The Xi (Caveman Chronicles)

The Index -|-

It had been a long night, and Kpleeb was exhausted. Despite his dulled senses and achingly wooden legs, a list of penetrating worries gnawed at his mind.

What if Jariit escaped the bonds? What if Zara fell asleep and it has killed her? What if I missed some wreckage and there is another entity out there hunting us… or bringing others?

He had no choice but to keep moving. Ahead of him the Ganix jogged effortlessly as they always did. Kpleeb knew that they slowed so that he could keep up, and it galled him. He was also grateful. Over the ridge ahead of him the cave waited, and he knew that one way or another, his worries would be over in a few minutes.

“Close, now,” said Xir dropping back to speak to Kpleeb. His voice was level and calm. His breathing deep and regular. Apparently, he had taken charge of the remaining Ganix though Kpleeb had seen no rank or ceremony.

“Yes,” gasped Kpleeb. “She better be okay.”

“Zara, strong.” Xir nodded and slowed as they reached the crest of the ridge.

Just ahead of them the gray-ish colored angle rested where he had left it near the cave entrance. Kpleeb stopped and put his hands on his knees. He drew in spasmodic breaths until he recovered from the strenuous jog. A couple of the Ganix warriors posted themselves at the perimeter while the rest of them grouped around the angle. They appeared to be studying it, prodding it with their hands and feet. Some bent under it, even laying on their backs underneath it, presumably to get a better look at the nodule clusters. One Warrior threw a knee over the front angle and climbed on top. The angle rocked, gently cradled on the invisible force that Kpleeb assumed kept it levitating above the ground.

After a moment, he entered the cave. Inside, Zara sat cross-legged a couple of paces away from Jariit. As Kpleeb approached, he saw that they were talking to each other, but that conversation stopped as soon as he entered the room.

Zara looked up. “Da, I’m glad you’re back!” She smiled at him.

Kpleeb frowned and looked at Jariit whose face gazed at him without emotion. Kpleeb visually checked the bonds and saw that the thick rope still encircled Jariit’s body. “Are you okay, Zara?”

Zara nodded and gestured at the entity. “Da, we got its name wrong. This is Kiipo, and he can talk to us. He is a ‘Xi’.” She pronounced the word with an accentuated “z.” “Zee.”

Kpleeb nodded at Zara and then looked at Kiipo. “It this true?”

Kiipo spoke in a reedy, thin voice. “Yes. I can speak.” Its eyes flickered from Kpleeb to Zara and back.

Kpleeb noticed that its neck slits oozed, and a trickle of the clear substance dripped into its neck line and disappeared under its black clothing.

“Da,” Zara said, “Jariit is a title for the Xi who fly the angles which are called Lutu.”

Kpleeb was surprised that she had learned these things, and he sat next to her her on the cave floor. “You have learned more?”

“Much more. The Xi come for lak, the shiny stuff that Uuiit had stored in the village.”

“What is the lak for?”

“Lak is a key mineral in their manufacturing. They make many things with it, even the lutu and these small objects.” Zara gestured at the pile of small objects nearby that Kpleeb had pilfered from Kiipo’s body.

“Why did Uuiit have a cloak with lak pieces all over the outside?”

Zara looked at Kiipo.

“The Iteek have a habit of…” it paused as if searching for a word, “of making themselves little kings.” Kiipo’s head tilted to the left slightly.

“Iteek?” Kpleeb shrugged.

“Uuiit was the Iteek here, Da,” said Zara gesturing around her. “It seems to mean outpost leader. Kiipo asked what had happened to Uuiit, and apparently, it was the only Xi here. ‘Phaedro’ they call this place. It is an orb.”

“Phaedro. Mmm. Your Ma was correct then about the shape and the, urh, position of this place?” Kpleeb remembered several of Thoka’s late night freethinking sessions. He had been skeptical at first when she had told him that the canyon river area was merely a small area on a large orb that floated in darkness. She had convinced him by describing in detail the mechanics of the orb’s orbit around the sun. She said that they had been dropped here when they awoke in the snowy woods all those months ago.

Zara nodded to confirm his statement. “The Xi come from another place like this one, but far, far away I suspect.

Kiipo’s eyes flicked between Kpleeb and Zara.

“Yes, Kiipo,” said Zara, “we know.”

Kpleeb was confused, but he merely nodded and remained silent.

“We know that the Xi come from another orb. You come in your lutu and you use the cavepeople you find to take lak from these orbs.” Zara paused and regarded Kiipo with a raised eyebrow. “The lak is a core component of everything you have, so it must be very valuable.”

Kpleeb turned and motioned to the nearest Ganix warrior. “Get me Xir and his dust bags.” The warrior nodded and left the cave. In a few moments, he returned with Xir who held two, small leather bags.

Kpleeb took one of the bags and opened the drawstring at the top and tipped the whole container over. Pure, white silica dust poured out into a pile on the floor. He motioned for the other bag and Xir handed it to him.

Kiipo let out a short, nasally-thin squeak and then clamped its mouth shut.

“This will be you if you do not give us all of the information we ask.”

“Da,” said Zara,” Kiipo has been so helpful already.”

“I see,” said Kpleeb smiling at her. “We need all of the information we can get.” He addressed Kiipo. “I only want you to understand that I am serious. Uuiit is dead, and these two Xi are dead as well. You killed my woman, Thoka. You tried to kill my daughter.” He shook his fist. “We can, and we will do what we must do to protect ourselves.” He set the second bag down. “Do you understand?”

Kiipo nodded slowly and mechanically. “Zara, make sure everything it says is written down or recorded.” Kpleeb looked at Kiipo. “Do you eat?” He put his fingers together toward his mouth.

Kiipo blinked. “Yes. My sustenance comes from the lutu.”

“Sustenance?” said Kpleeb.

“It is what sustains my body.”

Kpleeb smirked. “Imagine that. What is it called and what is it made of?”

“Poda is made of… it is synthesized from nutrients.”

“What if there is no lutu?” said Zara.

Kiipo paused as if processing a strange request. “Poda comes from the lutu.”

Zara sighed “Yes, but not every Xi is jariit. Where does an Iteek get its poda?”

Kiipo nodded. “Ah, yes, I understand.” It pointed at the red, tiered machine that stood against the wall.

“The red box contains poda?” Kpleeb stood and walked to it. He did not see any food or any holes that had food stuck on the edges.

“Push the bottom, right, second button three times. Then push the center triangle.”

Kpleeb held his finger over one of the unlit protrusions in the bottom-right most corner.

“No, the one below it.”

Kpleeb moved his finger and Kiipo nodded. Kpleeb looked at Zara. “Do you think it’s safe and that Kiipo is telling the truth?”

Zara looked at Kiipo and then at the red box. “Yes, it is safe.”

Kpleeb pressed the button three times. Each press changed the glowing patterns above the emitter. When he pressed the center triangle, more than two hand’s length of tubing poked out of a small hole.

“I need to eat from the tube,” said Kiipo, “or dispense into a container with the bottom-right, third button.”

Zara stood and handed Kpleeb a small, stone bowl. When Kpleeb pushed the button, a thick, grey-green goo extruded into the bowl. After a handful of seconds, the flow stopped and the tube retreated. Kpleeb smelled the contents of the bowl, but there was no scent. “Smells like nothing.”

“Xi do not require scent to eat.”

Kpleeb held the bowl in front of Kiipo’s mouth, and shuddered in surprise when a nozzle with the girth of his thumb protruded out of Kiipo’s open mouth, dipped into the thick goo, and drained the bowl.

When Kiipo’s nozzle had receded into its maw, it spoke. “Thank you. I will not need sustenance for another six of Phaedro’s days.

Kpleeb and Zara exchanged glances. “Urg, okay. Good,” said Kpleeb as he sat a few paces away. “More questions then. Are you male or female?”

Kiipo tilted its head slightly to the right. “I am Ja.”

“What’s Ja?” Kpleeb pointed at Zara. “Zara is female. Females can make babies. I am a male. Males cannot make babies, but are built for heavier work.”

Kiipo nodded. “I know about your genders. Ja are utilitarian. Ka are leaders.”

“Who makes the baby Xi?”

“Na make the babies,” said Kiipo.

“Wait, what?” Kpleeb shook his head. “Na, Ja, and Ka? Three genders?”

“They are the three aspects of the imminent Janaka.” Kiipo’s fingers twitched.

“Diety?” Kpleeb yawned. “Like the great spirit tahr?”

Kiipo tilted its head. “I have not heard of the great spirit tahr, but it is possible.”

Kpleeb nodded. Their diety makes no difference. He paused and thought for a moment before asking his next question. “Who rules the Xi?”

“Who is your ruler?” asked Kiipo.

Kpleeb was not able to discern if Kiipo was being defiant or merely participating in the conversation, so he gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“I am my ruler,” said Kpleeb. “Once, long ago I was a part of the canyon river tribe, and we had a chief, the fab elder Shoofit. I don’t know where he is, or even if he is alive. Now, I am my own ruler.” He repeated his question. “Who rules the Xi?”

“The Predominant rules from Nidix,” said Kiipo.

Zara chimed in. “Where is this Nidix? It is a large village I presume.”

Kiipo did not speak for a long moment. “It is… difficult to explain for several reasons.”

“Go ahead, I’m listening,” said Kpleeb.

Kiipo blinked. “Nidix is a planet, an orb like Phaedro, but I have never seen it. As a simple Jariit, it is outside of my knowledge. This is true for most of the Xi. Perhaps there are some Xi who live there and serve The Predominant, but I do not know.”

“How many such planets do the Xi live on?” Zara yawned and looked up at Kpleeb.

“I- I do not know,” said Kiipo with his neck slits fluttering. “Please do not hold this against me. The young Xi are taught that the mighty Xi extend to all known planets. I know of at least twenty-nine by name.”

Kpleeb looked at Zara and noticed that she was yawning again. “Kiipo, we must sleep. Are you cold, or hot, or uncomfortable?”

Kiipo blinked again and then lifted its chin slightly. “This cave is very hard, and I am cold.”

Kpleeb turned to Xir. “Bring a reed mat and yak blanket.” He spoke to Zara. “We must rest and talk. Can you make sure Kiipo cannot escape?”

“I will not escape,” said Kiipo.

Kpleeb looked at Kiipo. “Maybe, but I don’t trust you.” He motioned to Zara. “When you are sure he is unable to escape, come to sleep. Xir, make sure two Ganix stand watch here while we sleep.”

Xir nodded slightly and disappeared through the cave entrance.

Kpleeb turned and made his way to the small, secondary chamber that housed their bedding. His eyes stung with lack of sleep, and his thoughts drifted to Thoka.

When Zara came into the chamber, she saw Kpleeb lying on his mat with a grimace of pain and anger on his face. His fists were balled up, and in the low light she could not see the tears flowing. Zara laid down next to her Da and wrapped her small arms around his neck.

“It will be okay, Da,” she whispered. He did not respond, but he did cradle her in his arms. In a few minutes, both were fast asleep.