The River
Events that determine the future of the human race should happen on sunny days, and the sky above the river that fateful morning was as bright as it had ever been. Treetops gently swayed as a soft breeze fell from the mountain ridge, over the jungle plateau, and across the river. Tellus and Ooranoo, both ten years old, wandered down the path from their village, blissfully unaware that before the day ended, they would be part of a sequence of events that would forever change the fate of humanity.
“I’m glad your father let us go swimming,” said Tellus as he swung a small wooden bucket from side to side. His sandy blonde hair, royal blue eyes, and solid jaw gave hint of the handsome man he would eventually become.
“He just wanted to get rid of us for awhile,” said Ooranoo with a grin as she grabbed the bucket and raced ahead. Her long, brown hair, tied in a braid, bounced against her back as she sprinted away.
“Hey,” he shouted, “give that back!”
“Catch me first,” she taunted, disappearing around a bend.
Ferns hanging across the path slapped at his face as Tellus raced after his friend. She managed to hold him off long enough to reach the water’s edge first. The noise of the river rushing by provided a constant drone in the background as he grabbed the bucket. “I’ll take that, thank you.”
Ooranoo shrugged, “That’s fine, I don’t want it anymore.”
He rolled his eyes and turned to an old, gnarled tree whose roots grew across the muddy embankment and down into the water.
“Would you be so kind as to watch this bucket while we swim?” he asked, placing the handle over an outstretched limb.
“Did it answer you this time?” teased Ooranoo. She dangled a foot in the cool water, hesitant to go in just yet.
He sighed and explained, “Like I said before, it’s not about getting an answer. I talk to things because it helps me think out loud.”
“Oh,” she said, “Talking to things that can’t talk back helps you think.”
“That’s right, now if only you were more like the tree,” he laughed and turned to the river.
“Can you talk with your mouth full of water?” she asked as she pushed him firmly in the back.
Tellus flailed his arms for a second, trying desperately to maintain his balance, but he fell anyway. Ooranoo giggled and jumped in after him. They swam and laughed for what seemed like hours. Years later Tellus remembered being distracted by a tree branch floating by when Ooranoo screamed.
Her voice pierced the dull roar of the river, and Tellus jerked his head around so quickly he had trouble focusing his eyes. She pointed toward the sky, and his vision sharpened immediately as he followed her arm to see a ball of fire plummeting straight toward them.
They dove under water as the meteor crashed into the ground only a hundred yards from the edge of the river. When they resurfaced moments later, the jungle had erupted into a cacophony of activity as birds flew from the trees, followed closely by anything else that could move.
When the noise subsided, Ooranoo whispered, “What is that?”
Tellus shook his head, “I don’t know, but let’s go see.”
She nodded in agreement as they climbed out of the river and made their way cautiously forward. As they approached, they could see where the impact had blown dirt and rocks outward, leaving a noticeable mound on the far side of a small crater. An eerie silence hung over the area, broken only by the ceaseless torrent of the river behind them. The hole, still smoldering and hot, looked to be knee-deep, as wide as three people, and at the bottom rested six, shiny, silver cylinders, each the size of one of their forearms.
“What are those?” asked Ooranoo, but for once in his life, Tellus had no reply. They both stared at the rods for several more seconds before Ooranoo broke the spell, “I should get my father. He’ll know what to do.” Her father served as village chief, and most regarded him as one of the wisest men in the region.
Tellus took a step into the crater only to have Ooranoo grab his shoulder, “What are you doing?”
“Ooranoo, I like your father, but do you think he’s going to let us see these once everyone gets here?” he asked. She didn’t reply, knowing the answer would be no.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “I’m going to look while I can.”
“Wait for me,” she urged, hopping over the lip of the crater to join him. Soft heat rose from the ground, and little whiffs of smoke escaped from pockets of air and dirt. They both knelt down to examine the rods.
“They have some kind of writing on the side,” observed Ooranoo as she pointed at a series of regular, dark lines that encircled all six of the cylinders.
Tellus looked closer, puzzled by the glyphs, “Do you recognize any of it?”
“No,” she replied softly.
He reached for one of the rods, “Let’s get a better look.”
“Do you think that’s safe?”
“I hope so,” he said. His heart beat rapidly as he reached for the nearest rod. “They don’t look danger–Yeow!” he yelled, quickly pulling his hand away and sucking his finger to get relief from the newly formed blister.
“Let’s leave,” urged Ooranoo.
Tellus shook his head, “No, wait here for just a second.” He stepped out of the crater and sprinted for the river. Ooranoo watched nervously as Tellus retrieved the bucket from the old tree and filled it with water.
When he returned, he quickly poured the bucket load over the cylinders and jumped back as the water steamed and hissed. He waited a few seconds and put his hand close to the nearest one. “Feels cool now,” he announced. “I’m going to try again.”
“Maybe we should wait, Tellus. I think I hear voices coming down the path.”
He ignored her as his hand wrapped around the cylinder. “Now, tell me what you are rod,” he commanded.
Quite unexpectedly, Tellus heard a loud voice ring out, “Genetic Imprint Confirmed.”
“Who said that?” He turned to Ooranoo, hoping she had seen the source of the deep voice.
“Said what?”
“Something about jentic confirmed,” he replied. “You know. You heard it just like me.”
“Heard what Tellus, you’re scaring me.”
“That loud voice just now.”
“What?” she asked, confused and afraid.
“That loud voice!” he repeated.
“Tellus, the only voice around here is yours.” She kept glancing toward the trees, hoping her father and the other villagers would arrive soon.
Tellus looked in the same direction and then back at the rod. His eyes suddenly grew wide with realization. “It was the rod! The rod spoke to me!”
Ooranoo took a step back. “Stop it, Tellus. I don’t like this.”
The villagers emerged from the trees, and within seconds they surrounded the pair, demanding to know what had happened. They told and retold their story several times, but after everyone had taken turns handling the rods, no one believed Tellus’ account of one of them speaking to him.
Finally, Ooranoo’s father gathered the rods and ordered everyone to follow. She and Tellus fell in beside each other as they climbed up the long path back to the village. They were quiet for most of the hike, but at one turn Ooranoo happened to look directly at Tellus and he mouthed the words, “It did speak to me.”
Five years passed before she finally believed him.
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