Three Spheres

Chapter 29 - The adventures of Okonko 1, The Rescue!

"I'm Okonko Babatunde! Secundus-Ordinis Parvus Ranger from Brazva's District Unit, from Nigrum! It is a pleasure to meet you!", he thinks, looking at himself in the mirror. Okonko likes to start the day positively, always willing to live new experiences. "Today I'll do my best to help people!", he concludes, already pining the Priesthood insignia on his uniform.

Brazva is one of the cultural centers of Nigrum. A huge, mixed, and active city. Its district covers an extensive territory that includes several satellite cities surrounding the metropolis. 100km to the north is the capital of the Empire, Sarauniya.

Okonko was born and raised in Brazva, with his family of just three. His father had been Chief Priest of the unit for several years until he retired. Okonko's goal is to follow in his footsteps, bringing joy to everyone. However, as the youngest in the Unit, his daily work was... simple. "Even so, I won't be discouraged! A problem that may seem small to me, can be terrible for someone else!", he thinks.

_ Oko! G'morning. _ One of the colleagues greets him from the reception desk _ Today is gonna be a busy day. We've already received two requests for intervention.

_ Good morning!! _ He replies, smiling _ I can handle one of the services, veteran!

_ I didn't expect less from you, Oko! _ The man gets up and hands him a letter _ Have fun!

Okonko runs his eyes over the lines; they shine. He thanks his colleague, and prepares to leave. "Today is my debut as a people's hero! Ahahah! Okonko, to the rescue!", he thinks to himself during the journey.

He greets everyone he sees on the street; several of them call him by name, others even ask about his parents. Okonko knows each of the city's endless streets. He navigates between buildings like an experienced postman. One of his exotic hobbies is trying to memorize as many addresses as possible, of stores, families, or anything he finds interesting.

Finally, he arrives at his destination: The residence of the Tumai family. They live on the 2nd floor of a small building, surrounded by others. At the door, an elderly woman waits, huffing, beside a young girl who tries to calm her down. Okonko approaches, but before he can even introduce himself, the lady shouts:

_ Are you from the Ecclesia?! Finally!! Back in my day, when someone sent a call, you came right on time!

_ Calm down, grandma! Not even 2 hours passed since we sent the request... _ The girl intervenes and, with an uncomfortable expression, continues _ Thank you for coming, really. Don't mind grandma...

_ "Don't mind grandma"?! Go fly a kite, Sassandra! It was I who saw that Maria was trapped!

_ I'm very sorry for taking so long! _ Okonko replies, without letting the irritation of others affect him _ It's Maria who needs help, right? I'll do my best to resolve this as soon as possible. _ He smiles and pauses _ I'm Okonko. I hope I can be useful!

The girl sighs, relieved. The lady's expression gradually softens. She says:

_ I'm Sanura. The girl's Sassandra. _ She turns around, leaning on her cane _ Come in.

Okonko follows both into the building. The old woman stops on the 2nd floor, stating that she can't climb all those staircases. Sassandra continues the path to the top and explains the situation:

_ Maria is our pet. She likes to climb the buildings, but sometimes she can't get back... The problem is that she's  too proud to admit this and keeps refusing our help. Grandma's the only one who can convince her, but she can't come up here anymore. That's why we called you.

_ It's all right! Kittens are like that. _ Okonko laughs, when they reach the balcony.

_ Kitty? Maria isn't a cat... _ The girl replies, opening the door _ She's a Sphinx*.

Okonko rests his eyes on the arrogant, immense creature, that lies trapped in the prominences of the building in front of him. "A Sphinx...? It isn't a kitten...?", he thinks to himself, amazed.

_ Sassandra! _ Maria exclaims _ Who is this young man who shows before me? I will devour you for such audacity!

_ Calm down, Maria! This is Okonko, from the Ecclesia; he came to help!

_ Ha! So much prepotency for such an infamous being to feel worthy of providing any help to me! Besides, of it, I do not need! _ She turns around, waving the lion's tail slowly _ I only accept the judgment of those who prove themselves worthy through reasonable testing.

Sassandra turns to Okonko, worried, and says:

_ So, that's it... Like a good Sphinx, Maria only respects those who can solve her puzzles. And the only one who can do it is grandma! _ She covers her face with both hands.

_ I see... Well, today is your lucky day! I happen to be a great puzzle-solver! _ He turns to the Sphinx _ Please, Mrs. Maria, let me help you. _ He bows respectfully _ I'll prove myself worthy!

The Sphinx's pompous expression turns into a snobbish smile. She then says:

_ "The moon is in the sky. When you look at the clock, you see the hands point to 2 sharp. On the calming waters of the ocean, there is the reflection of an ancient star. Both shine their primordial and irreducible light. How old I am?". Sassandra, you are forbidden to assist him!

Sassandra rolls her eyes, confused and hopeless. Okonko stops, thinks and murmurs... After a series of "Hmmm...", he finally replies:

_ You're 112 years old!

The Sphinx and the girl are gaping. Maria says:

_ Explain to me how you came to that conclusion! I must know if you're cheating!

_ All right. _ Okonko smiles _ I thought it like... Sphinxes never give the hits directly and these puzzles always mix logic with assumptions. When you said that the moon is in the sky, you told me that it is night and so I assumed that the time on the clock is 2:00am. Converting this number to a value that makes sense with the age question, I have the number 200. Since the hint was a watch, I considered that the value 200 is the sum of 2 or 3 factors, since watches can have 2 (hours and minutes) or 3 (hours, minutes and seconds) hands. Only with 2 factors would it be very easy, so I assumed that 200 is the sum of 3 age values, probably yours, Sassandra's, represented by the "calming waters" and of Mrs. Sanura, the "ancient star". The "reflex" suggests palindromic numbers for their age. In the end, you say "primordial and irreducible"; if I keep considering that you were referring to numbers, they're necessarily prime numbers that can't be factored. This shortens my list of possibilities. _ He looks at the girl _ Considering that Sassandra is more than 10 years old, but less than 30, her possible ages in prime numbers are 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 and 29. Of these, the only reverses that make sense for the age of Mrs. Sanura are 17, 19 and 29. However, 91 and 92 are not prime, but 71 is! So I deduced that Sassandra is 17 years old and Mrs. Sanura 71. The sum is equal to 88... So 200 minus 88 is equal to 112, which is your age! Am I right?

The Sphinx is defeated, but satisfied and revolted simultaneously. Sassandra celebrates her ally's victory. They quickly manage to bring the Fabulare back to the safety of their home. Sanura is overjoyed and thanks the boy immensely, offering him to stay a little longer. Okonko accepts the kindness with a smile.

While they enjoy coffee and cake, Maria tells the gossip she discovered during her walk on the rooftops:

_ Did you know that there is a woman living alone in that horrible shack on 13th Street? It came to me that she has lived there for almost 1 month, but she still hasn't had the sympathy to even fix the residence. No courteous individual would be content to live in such a low level place.

"How strange", Okonko thinks. "Maybe she has financial problems. I'll see if there's anything we can do to help!", he concludes, naive.

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Author's notes:

*Sphinx: Rational and socialized creatures, with extremely broad powers in the Mind Sphere. They're natural of the Nigrum Empire. Like other feline species, there are subspecies, with different sizes, diets and behaviors. Giant Sphinxes are extremely rare, but small ones are relatively common as pets and counselors in Nigrum.