Episode 35
Travelling Light E035S01 Transcript
[Title music: rhythmic electronic folk.]
H.R. Owen
Travelling Light: Episode Thirty Five.
[The music fades out.]
The Traveller
6th Herach 850, continued.
Eventually, my tears slowed and I came back to myself feeling lighter than I had since we left Koom. Annaliese dropped a single, matter of fact kiss onto the top of my head, got me a glass of water, and went about her business as if there was nothing remarkable in her kindness.
I know it cannot be easy for you who love me so well to hear about the more difficult parts of my journey. I only hope it is a comfort to know I have such friends as Annaliese with me, to take care of me in your absence.
I mentioned already that we were in transit most of today. Our destination was a planet called Yzhnyaba. The interplanetary port of Yzhnyaba is in a city called Lebiecz, and is one of the smallest of its type that I have seen so far.
Yzhnyaba is not much of a tourist destination, nor is it an especially important trading post, overshadowed by the larger, busier planets in its system.
I had intended to spend a few hours exploring Lebiecz and then come back to the Tola for dinner and a quiet evening. But Annaliese had different ideas.
Instead of browsing the shops and cafés of Lebiecz, Annaliese whisked me away on the soonest transport she could find to spend the day walking the hills beyond the city's suburbs.
“You need fresh air and exercise,” she said briskly. “You've been cooped up in your cabin quite long enough. Besides – you can carry my sampling kit for me.”
She was right, of course. The land around Lebiecz is dominated by great, looming hills, and I took enormous pleasure in the strain of my muscles as we climbed, the smell of the grass and green things growing around us, the full-bodied gusts of wind that buffeted us about and blew my hair in all directions.
I have attached an entry for the archives that goes into more detail about the day, and will be adding another later this evening. In her efforts to keep me for “marinating” as she put it, Annaliese has bought tickets to a concert of local music which I am sure you will want to hear all about.
But first, I must tell you what we saw on our return to the Tola this afternoon.
As I said, the port at Lebiecz is not so very large, for all that it is the first destination for every ship to arrive on Yzhnyaba. It is easy enough to see the other ships in dock here, clustered together among the cargo cranes and warehouses.
I am sure you can imagine, then, my surprise and dismay when I looked out at the ships in port and spotted the hulking shape of the Guillemot among them.
I brought Annaliese's attention to it immediately, but of course, she had never seen the Guillemot – or not to recognise it again, anyway. None of the Tola's crew had. It was only by coincidence that I had, back when I had been deciding which ship to take my berth upon.
Still, I was sure I was right. As soon as we got to the Tola, I told Aman what I had seen, and after a quick, quiet word with port security, she confirmed it.
I do not know what this means for us, or for Captain Scarry and his crew. I suppose they must be following us, but to what end? Óli is… Is gone. We have no more idea of their movements than Scarry does.
Still, the general feeling aboard the Tola is that whatever is good for Scarry must perforce be bad for Óli. And while the others may not be quite as emotionally invested in Óli's well-being as I am, they cannot wish them ill.
We had intended to stay on Yzhnyaba for two or three days at least. Instead, we leave first thing tomorrow, the earliest that Aman could finish the ship's business here and plot a new course.
She has filed an outgoing route with the port authority office – erroneous, of course. I do not think it likely that Scarry will take the bait but the Light shines on those who carry hope.
I will send this letter tonight, after the concert. When I write again, I hope it will be safe in the knowledge that we have shaken Scarry from our tail. Send my love to all at home, and wish us luck.
[The click of a data stick being inserted into a drive that whirs as it reads]
The Traveller
Entry HE85006-3: The tale of the Babazmij and the evolution of life on Yzhnyaba.
Key words: Babazmij; flora and fauna; geology; Lebiecz; local history; myths and legends; natural world; oral literature; Yzhnyaba.
Notes:
Annaliese explained her interest in the region around Lebiecz as we took the transport out of town. Apparently the hills of Lebiecz Province are not only home to a great range and variety of plant species, but many of these species cannot be found anywhere else.
This is not so very unusual, in the grand scheme of things. There is no reason to suppose that the specific conditions that support life in one place will be met in precisely the same way somewhere else, whether that be weather conditions, the mineral content in the soil, or a compatible surrounding ecosystem.
However, the people of Lebiecz Province have an altogether more romantic explanation for the region's biodiversity. They look at the hills and crags of their home, and see life bursting forth from the very bones of myth and legend.
The story starts in the time before time, when the universe was new. This was an era of legends, when every cosmic myth across the galaxy was unfolding all at once.
On Pelapa, they tell of an ancient all-mother who birthed the clouds and named the rain. Meanwhile, on Ciarro, the ancestors of the Tisori were digging the interlocking tunnels that criss-cross the southern continent.
And in the skies of Yzhnyaba, the great serpent Babazmij was circling.
The Babazmij was not a native of Yzhnyaba. In fact, there was no native life on Yzhnyaba – or life of any kind. It was nothing more than a cold, lifeless rock, spinning in the dark alone.
And from the dark, the Babazmij came – a creature of immeasurable vastness, grown huge in the black of space.
She had swum through the stars for ages past, and seen sights beyond imagining. And she had grown tired of travels, and sought now a place to lay her head and rest.
So she came to Yzhnyaba. She wrapped herself around the planet, her huge body encircling it once, twice, three times over. And then, the last of her energy spent, she let out a final, lonely cry, and died.
The breath rushed from her body, and formed the atmosphere. The warmth of her cooling corpse heated the planet, allowing it to sustain life. And her flesh, dusted as it was with star stuff from the untold corners of the universe, rotted into the ground.
The star stuff spread out its root, and from it sprang the trees and plants and flowers that were the first life on Yzhnyaba.
But lest you think this tale a mere myth, the people of Lebiecz would urge you to look around at the hills of their home. For it was here the Babazmij laid her ancient head.
What we see now as hills are in fact the ridges of her spine, laid over with a blanket of growing things. And the largest hill, known locally as Grandmother's Rest, is all that remains of her skull.
Naysayers might claim this story is nothing more than a fabulous legend – a creation myth no different than those told on Pelapa and Ciarro.
They say Grandmother's Rest is nothing more than a natural formation, blown into shape by the wind and rain and ice of long ages past.
I have attached a photograph of the hill in question. I will leave it to you to decide which explanation you prefer.
[Title music: rhythmic instrumental folk. It plays throughout the closing credits.]
H.R. Owen
Travelling Light was created by H.R. Owen and Matt McDyre, and is a Monstrous Productions podcast. This episode was written and performed by H.R. Owen.
This week’s entry to the archives was based on an idea by Matt McDyre, with accompanying artwork available on our social media accounts.
If you've got an idea for an archive entry, we want to hear it. You can send us anything from a one line prompt to a fully written entry through our website, by email, or on social media. For more information, see the show notes.
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