Canticle Blue

28. Pa'Keh

Music - The Magic Fountain by David Arkenstone

Keh Sem had come to Per'sa Island in its second year of occupation, as his granddaughter Annibet had requested. On behalf of the Bryn Institute, he had taken a covert, overnight flight from the school to the island in the airship Lillith. By then he was no longer facing retirement but a new and expanded usefulness to the Bryn Colony. He first served as a liaison and courier between the colony and the island, shuttling documents, artifacts, and equipment both ways. Later he assisted with the creation and structuring of the C-link data sharing network, personally entering a sizable portion of its original historical and archeological content.

In more recent years, he had taken an interest in helping Annibet with the Middi. He especially enjoyed simply talking with them as their social skills developed. During one such conversation, the Middi he was speaking with seemed to completely shut down. When Annibet arrived to troubleshoot, she said, "There's nothing wrong, really. This one is just totally absorbed in listening to you, Papa. He's capable of multitasking, of course, but it's his way of showing you that you have his full attention. He is only the second Middi, and Ip never acted like this. But, in keeping with what we hope for the Middi in general, I don't think we should try to change anything. Would you mind spending extra time with this one?"

"Not at all."

"Thanks so much, Papa. I know you enjoy this anyway, but here's something to think about. You can tell this Middi all of your stories, and he will remember every word."

The Middi were not meant to imitate human behavior any more than a family pet would be. They were intended to be entities who would be able to progress and actualize in their own ways. Thus they developed mannerisms that were not at all problematic, but quite unforeseen. They were always aware of right and wrong, but generally chose to act as innocent as children. They were often playful, but also responsible in their commitments to community and work. And some, completely of their own accord, chose to be legacy keepers. They developed such affinities for certain people that they committed everything that could be known about them to memory. So it was that a Middi who had spent a great deal of his formative time studying and listening to Annibet's grandfather, chose the name Pa'Keh. He was also the pilot of the first exotic-matter spacecraft created on the island.

Pa'Keh not only volunteered to pilot the ship but also helped with the design of it. Though it was to be well-equipped for carrying cargo and gathering E-matter in space, it would have been much too confining for humans. It was configured with what came to be a pattern in islander spacecraft design. The piloting canopy at the bow of the ship was spherical, with a diameter somewhat larger than that of the long, cylindrical fuselage behind it. The fuselage featured two rings of  variable R-type drive blades (or "petals," as Elyse liked to call them) arranged around its circumference. The smaller set comprised a "collar drive" unit for maneuvering, mounted just behind the canopy. The main R-drive blades, which were much larger and formed a reverse-parasol shape when deployed, were folded forward from the stern. The entire outer skin of the ship was covered with programmable Shil.

As its pilot, Pa'Keh would be able to deal with almost any contingency. He would not need food, water, air, power, sleep, or—within reason—heat. He could make decisions autonomously, with wireless access to all ship's systems and mission parameters, or with expert advice via the C-link—albeit with time delays when great distances were involved.

Whatever the Middi rationale had been for personal name selection, their enthusiasm for other names was even less clear to humans. This was the case when Pa'Keh and Ip chose to name the ship, Castel. It was a Per'sa word which translated literally as "ice maker." They liked this name because of the shape and operation of the E-matter collectors mounted between the drive sections of the ship. In flight, the paddle-shaped appendages would extend to capture E-matter and withdraw to store it.

The launch of the Castel was well attended. The ship had been through so many ground tests that its existence was well known; and the time and place had been announced via the C-link. Nearly everyone, including Keh Sem, Ip, and other Middi, gathered to see it. The launch sequence began with the central crater fully open and the ship standing vertically on the elevator platform below. Crowds had gathered on the ridge surrounding the crater, in the warehouse itself, and even aboard the Blue Light, which was holding a position over the north crater and piloted by Tor Stym.

Pa'Keh was about to enter the Castel when Ip approached him and bowed, with her wings extended upward and her arms at her side. She spoke to him privately via the C- link, "Pa'Keh, I have a poem for you:

'Memory keeper—
We will remember
this day.'"

Pa'Keh returned her bow in the same manner—their fore-wings touching—and replied, "Your poem will be good company for me, Ip. My poem for you is:

'Islander voyage
I will not be
an island.'

"And now," he attempted a joke, "I will make ice."

Once Pa'Keh had settled into one of the two pilot seats, the elevator began to lift the ship. As it rose, he used the collar drives to generate thrust for stability and the ship's radio to call Shei, who was hovering high above the island in the Lillith. "I am ready, Shei. How do things look to you?"

"Good morning, Pa'Keh," she answered. "The upper level winds are minimal; there are no airships or marine vessels in the area; and there is now a large clearing above you. Happy sailing!"

"Thank you, Shei. I am on my way, then."

The Castel quickly left the central crater, with the collar drives at full power, and accelerated soundlessly. When it reached the upper atmosphere, Pa'Keh deployed the expansive main R-drives, while slowly spinning the ship for effect, and sent radial bursts of blue light across their Shil coverings. Then he called Shei again, "Castel to Lillith: Shei, I am impressed with the collar drives. They are very responsive and well balanced. I am about to go full-stealth and will remain in that mode for awhile, as planned."

Shortly after that, the spacecraft simply vanished.

Shei replied, "Pa'Keh, if I didn't know you were there, I wouldn't know you were there."

He tried some humor too. "Then I should keep talking so you don't worry about me."

She responded, "I'll listen to you on the C-link, Pa'Keh. I'm heading back to the south crater, and the Blue Light is right behind me."