Free The Power of Gnaris by Les Bill Gates Page B

palace by way of the servants’ entrance, removed
his disguise and retired to his quarters. He took care to place the
bag containing the special glasses in his wall safe where it would
remain until it was time for the delegation to depart for
Ziemia.
    Then he
entered his private chapel for a meeting with the gods.
    He collapsed
onto one knee and began going through the usual ritual of greeting
the gods. Then he stood and raised his head, waiting for the
hologram to appear. Almost at once, he saw the old wizened figure
of Kingirow standing before him.
    “Barrow, you
look troubled,” Kingirow said. “Do you have some important
news?”
    “Yes, oh,
great and mighty Kingirow, leader of the gods, creator of the
Karavec and of the Council, I have very important news. The Council
has met today.”
    “That is
indeed news that I did not expect, or hope for. The consequences of
this meeting do not bode well.”
    Barrow went on
to describe the reasons for the meeting, and the decisions made by
the Council.
    “The decisions
are the right ones,” said Kingirow. “A huge burden is placed on
your shoulders and those of Lord Lolena. The gods give their
approval for this endeavour, and will protect you and your company
as you perform this difficult task.”
    The hologram
faded, and Barrow rose to his feet. He slowly made his way to his
bedroom. The day’s events, especially the ritual of ‘The Melding of
Gnaris’, had left him exhausted. It wasn’t long before he
slept.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 8 – ‘The Loop’
    “ Hikon is a
planet full of wonder. ‘The Loop’ unravels that wonder, and fills
the soul with glee.”
     The Book of
Karavec (95, 89)
     
    “What do we
know about the planet Ziemia?” The Great Savant met in his private
quarters with Forster, Elena and Lolena.
    Forster typed
out some keywords on his laptop, and brought up a page of
information about the planet.
    “It has a
diameter of 14,874 kilometers, surface gravity is about 1.1g,
average surface temperature is 15 o Celsius, and the
average pressure at sea level is 96 kilopascals.”
    “Minerals?”
    “Well it’s
about 67 percent covered with water in the form of oceans. There
are ice caps at both poles. The most abundant elements in the
planet’s crust are silicon and oxygen, and the core is mostly made
up of compounds of iron. The atmosphere is 71 percent nitrogen and
26 percent oxygen, with some other gases and water vapour.
    “Its orbit is
an average 160 million kilometres from Ogien. It takes 307 days to
orbit the sun, and spins once on its axis every 22 hours and 36
minutes. It also has two large moons with diameters of 1,100
kilometres and 1,600 kilometres.”
    “It sounds
very similar to the human planet you come from, captain.”
    “I see. Yes,
you are right; it does share many of the features and qualities of
the Earth.”
    Barrow looked
Forster in the eye. “Now, captain, would you care to share with the
others exactly why you are interested in the planet Ziemia, and
your real reason for coming here?”
    Forster
cleared his throat. “A few months ago, we intercepted an audio
signal from a satellite orbiting Ziemia, the fourth planet of this
solar system.”
    “They have
satellites?” Elena found it difficult to conceal her
excitement.
    “Yes, at least
some of the inhabitants of Ziemia have developed a rudimentary
knowledge of rocketry and satellite communication; who knows, maybe
even space travel.”
    “What did the
audio say?” Elena asked. “Were you able to decipher any of it?”
    “Take a
listen.”
    Forster
connected a recording device to his computer, and they listened
intently to the recorded message.
    “I can
recognise some of the words,” said Elena. “It’s English!”
    Forster’s face
broke out into a broad smile. “I think you will be able to
understand most of it if I play the