Free Epic of Aravinda 1: The Truth Beyond the Sky by Andrew M. Crusoe Page A

easy to learn how to use.”
    “Wow, so my guess was correct,” Zahn said. “They wanted us to use them. Whoever ‘they’ were.”
    “Indeed, evidence suggests that whoever built these gates wanted others to use them. The question is: for what purpose?”
    Oonak paused and massaged his chin.
    “Navika,” Oonak continued. “Do you think you can communicate with it?”
    “I can generate similar gravity pulses, yes. What would you like me to send?”
    “Well, if my hypothesis is correct, these gates are arranged in a hierarchy. So our next step is to go up one level in that hierarchy. Navika, transmit 3.3.2, 71.11.00, 000.”
    After a few moments, Navika spoke again.
    “What happened was intriguing, but you may not like it.”
    “Did the gate ignore you?” Zahn said.
    “Oh no, far from it. The gate quite definitely received my message, but it transmitted back something I don’t quite understand. It sent a harmonic signal that was discordant, almost like an instrument being played out of key. Do you have any further commands?”
    “Yes, Navika. Try sending the address of the gate we just left. Send the address that would lead us back to Avani, and see how it responds.”
    “All right,” Navika said. “I have scans of the cavern, but I’d like to confirm. The address you request me to transmit is 3.3.2, 71.11.23, 003. Is that correct?”
    “Exactly correct, Navika. Proceed.”
    As he awaited the results of Navika’s message, seconds seemed like minutes to Zahn, and silence hung heavy in the air.
    “I wish you both could have heard what I just heard,” Navika finally said.
    “What do you mean ‘hear’? I thought you were sensing gravity pulses. Isn’t sound impossible without air?” Zahn said.
    “Avanian, that would depend on what you consider sound. Sound is merely vibration. Sound only requires a medium such as liquid or gas. It can even travel through stone. I am well aware there is no sound in space that you can hear. However, I process sensory information in ways that are beyond your understanding, and I heard these gravity waves.”
    “Navika, please call our guest by his name. He is part of our expedition now.”
    “As you wish.”
    Zahn looked out toward the edge of the ring again and the stars beyond.
    “I apologize, Navika. I didn’t mean to question the way you hear and see. I’m just trying to understand. So what was the response to our message?”
    “A most exquisite harmony, Zahn. I am certain it was a musical chord of some type, but relayed as a gravity wave. The chord itself seemed alive.”
    “A living chord? Sounds like a resounding yes in the language of music, if you ask me.”
    “I wonder if the set of two-digit numbers all go together,” Oonak said.
    “You mean, they could be different from the first set of single-digit numbers?”
    “Very likely. Navika, try 3.3.2, 00.00.00, 000. If my hypothesis is correct, we will be taken to a node gate.”
    This time they didn’t have to wait for long. After a few seconds, Navika spoke.
    “The response was not negative this time. However, it wasn’t like the signal I got when we put in Avani’s address, either. It started as one chord which then changed key again and again.”
    Zahn looked down to the center of the ring, which was far below them now, but saw nothing.
    “So why isn’t a vortex opening up?”
    “That is a good question, Zahn. Navika, has it indicated any discordance at all?”
    “Negative,” Navika said. “It seems our current knowledge of the gates is insufficient.”
    After all this, Zahn was beginning to wonder if their entire quest would stop here, just because they couldn’t solve the riddle of how to use this gate.
    All the hatchlings of eternity have gone before us, he thought.
    Recalling Kavi’s strange words from their meeting just a few days before was strangely comforting.
    “Wait a second, didn’t you say these gates are tuned to only respond to the life that lives near