Impossible Dreamers

Chapter 6 (nay): Scanning the Grabblers

'Where are the pictures?' Sleech asked.

Pring was busy turning more dials on the scanner. 'They'll come, soon enough,' she said, in a way that Sleech thought impertinent. But before he had a chance to admonish her, the screen started to dance with colour. Not the dark greys and browns he had seen in the thoughts of the Bartyronians, but soft pastel shades of blue, pink and light green.

Now the shapes on the screen became a group of about ten people. They were moving around a big open space. The ground was green. Or at least, it was partly green. It seemed to be made up of little bits of vegetable – small green leaves – very unlike the hard, grey floors on which the people of Bartyronis walked. Between the leaves there was mud and dirt. Sleech shuddered. How could these people stand such disorganisation? How could they bear to walk on such untidy ground?

The people were behaving very oddly. The expressions on their dark faces were unlike those of anybody in Bartyronis. They seemed to be constantly smiling. They were moving around one another, walking and running, and as they did so they passed a small, round object between themselves – tossing it through the air. Sleech could see no point to this activity. What could be achieved by passing a sphere from one person to another, and then back again? If there was something of value in the sphere, why didn't the first person keep it for themselves? And if the person who received it was so keen to get hold of it, why should they then immediately throw it away? As far as Sleech was concerned, getting a thing was good, and losing a thing was annoying and irritating. But for these people, the whole process of getting and losing the sphere seemed to fill them with pleasure. Truly these Grabblers were a barbaric, illogical people,.

'What is the name of this dreamer?' Sleech asked.

'I am sorry, High Master Sleech. Our records have no names for the people in the mountains. They are not yet recorded in our systems.'

'Very well. Move on to another of the creatures.'

'Certainly, Himester.'

The group of people with the sphere faded, and the colours dissolved on the screen. Sleech couldn't help noticing that there was something pleasant about the patterns forming in front of his eyes. Even the transition from one set of thoughts to another was graceful; one might almost say beautiful, though this was not a concept that Sleech thought about. But looking at the shapes moving around before his eyes, Sleech felt pleasure. He shook himself. Such pleasure was disgusting.

He looked over at Pring. She was smiling at the forms moving about on the screen, but when she saw Sleech looking at her, the smile disappeared.

'I am sorry, High Master Sleech. The people in this land seem to be scattered all over the place. There is no pattern to their habitation... it's difficult for the machine to lock on... Oh, here's someone...'

Pring turned a dial at the bottom of the machine, and then moved the directional probe slightly. They both watched intently as another group of figures appeared before them. There were ten or eleven of them, and they were moving in what appeared to be a prearranged pattern. Music was playing in the background, and once again, the people were all smiling. What was so enjoyable? Sleech couldn't understand what made these primitive people so happy. In the dreams of the people of Bartyronis, there had been occasional smiles, but they were on the faces of people defeating others, or escaping from something frightening. These people seemed to be constantly smiling, even when they hadn't defeated anyone or escaped harm. Again, Sleech shuddered.

'Move on. Move on. Find someone whose face is not wearing a stupid grin. Quickly!'

Again Pring moved the probe. Now the screen showed just one person, a woman wearing a flowing green robe. The robe trailed behind her as she moved forward smoothly and quickly. Then the viewpoint changed, but not in a jump, as in so many dreams before, but in a smooth transition, as if the viewer was just turning his or her head to look around. It was like the images Sleech saw every day from the observation cameras at the tops of buildings in Bartyronis. But whereas they showed grey shiny buildings and hunched people moving around below, the view now was of enormous mountains capped with great plumes of smoke.