Transhumans

Chapter 11

“If the present world goes astray, the cause is in you, in you it is to be sought.”

– Dante Alighieri

The Sherwood Forest was said to have been one of the most wonderful and mysterious places in the old country called England. The tall trees were said to have been the stage of one of the most famous stories of the old era: the tale of Robin Hood, the man who stole from the rich to provide for the poor, an outlaw whose purpose was to promote economical equality and assist those in need. The legend had been told century after century since the Middle Ages, when King Richard the Lionheart was the ruler of the English, and his brother John Lackland usurped his throne at Richard’s uncertain death. Raja knew that those tales had no place in the Transhuman world, however she had been able to keep it alive for her group, as well as many other tales from the old era. She couldn’t help but to think how appropriate it was. Another group of outlaws fighting a new corrupt system in the same forest.

“I do not understand,” she told Luke. “Your Province is miles from here, in the old Istanbul. Why did you choose to meet in the old England? Isn’t it a bit too far away?”

“For you, perhaps. Your airbus takes three hours from the south of England to the Sherwood Forest. But we have faster vehicles, and we usually take one hour from our Province to here.”

“Still a long time,” she said.

“Affordable enough. We started discussing during the trip, and once we got here, all we had to do was finish the meeting, store our files, keep our hiding place in order, and then we were able to go.”

“Hiding place?”

“You’ll see.”

Luke showed her the way to part the airbus not to call attention, and once they landed, he led the way through the forest. The tall trees covered the sky almost entirely, so the few spaces between the leaves would allow thin sun beams to light the way. It was a beautiful place, the militant leader could not hide her fascination. She had read the Robin Hood tale, but never been to Sherwood, so it was an entirely new feeling for her.

“Follow me,” Luke asked. “I believe they’ve arrived.”

Raja’s group followed Luke carefully, until he reached an old big fallen tree, its body so thick that even laid down it reached up to Raja’s stomach.

“Here we are!” Luke smiled. “Our hiding place!”

“It’s an old fallen tree,” Raja said suspiciously, but Luke did not reply. He bent down to the tree and started touching it carefully. After a few tries, he touched something that made part of the tree move, and a squared shaped entry was opened on the body of the tree.

“Come on in!” He grinned happily, stepping inside. “Watch the stairs, and the last one, please, close the door.”

For Raja’s surprise, the inside was all built like the entrance of a medieval basement; there were flaming torches put all the way down on the stone walls to help people to see the long stairs. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear they were entering Robin Hood’s hiding place. They went down carefully, following Luke. The staircase had about fifty steps. Once they got to the bottom, Raja saw a small corridor that led to a single wooden door, two torches on each side.

“Here we go,” Luke said, approaching the door and knocking. After a moment of silence, a female voice replied from the inside.

“Who is the one who knows?”

“The one who knocks is the Professor,” he replied. “Bringing with him a lady of high rank and ten of her followers.”

“I see,” the voice replied. “And why should I let you inside?”