Page 35 of Nixx
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I see an immense forest made up of trees with long smooth trunks, whose full branches start at more than thirty meters above the ground and whose long branches rise more than twenty meters above.
It is without surprise this time that I see where the forest ends, a troglodytic cliff, similar to the one I saw in the southern lands, except that the rocks here are shades of red-brown. A large plateau at its top overlooks the forest itself. So here are the lands of Nixx, the ones where I will spend my next days, or even weeks.
As we approach the edge of the large dirt plateau, Nixx reaches down and points to me:
“My home!”
What? I see nothing but trees. But as we pass under the tops of them, I realize that the top of the canopy hides suspended houses! It is a whole network of houses that I see, hidden in these immense trees.
“I'll show you around later because, for the moment, we are expected by my men and by your friends,’’ he adds.
We land on the high plateau, facing a large entrance into the rock. Eva runs out of it and throws herself into my arms.
“Sarah, I'm so happy to see you again. So, how was the ride? Ah, if you only knew, this world has so much to show us. They've been able to evolve, but in a way that respects nature, without trashing it, or reducing their impact. They are both primitive in some ways and so much more in tune with their environment. More mature in a way. And did you see how beautiful they are? Well, all of them, except for the despicable Kryll. But he's gone, which is good . . .”
True to her habit, Eva inundates me with questions without waiting for answers and jumps from one topic to another. She is like that, Eva, a hyperactive talker.
“Ha, we are all staying in cave rooms on this mountain. No stress, they're not cavemen though, you'll see, there's everything we need, or almost. They added a bed in my room so we can share it. And I've already scanned a billion things here. I'll give you your tablet, you'll see that. Because the big dark guy took you in really fast and since you left so quickly, you didn't take the scanner or your tablet. How did it go with him anyway? He seems like a hotheaded guy.”
I take advantage of a break in her avalanche of questions to answer a few.
“Nixx and Lokk took me to the southern lands, for political talks from what I understand. We were also hosted in a large blue rock cave complex. We'd have to go back and check the composition, but I'd bet on cobalt, azurite, and manganese blue calcite. I tasted a lot of things without knowing if they were good for me. It seems like their foods are good for us overall.”
“So as far as the composition of the rocks is concerned, here they are rather red, with red schist, spodumene, copper, spherocobaltite, red hematoconite and finally, fluorite hematoconite. And everything is wonderfully polished, giving straight, shiny walls. In addition, some of these rocks have phosphorescent properties. They store light during the day and give it back for one or two hours in the evening. And that's good because they don't have electricity. By the way, your patients are doing well. Sarc-11 is in one of the rooms facing a large opening in the rock. I explained to them that it is recharged by the sun's rays.”
We are interrupted in our reunion by Marc who hugs me.
“Sarah, I was worried, we didn't quite understand why Nixx took you in like that. Without explanation, without giving us time to give you a minimum of equipment.”
“I don't have to discuss my decisions with you, human!” Nixx replies in a dull voice from behind me. “Let her go now, I have to take her somewhere.”
Hey girl, are you dreaming or did he growl?
I don't have time to answer before I find myself once again in the arms of Nixx who takes off in a great movement of wings. I still have time to meet Marc's suspicious look.
We arrive at the first houses in the trees. They are at least thirty meters from the ground. Solidly anchored in the branches of the trees, they are made up of one or more rooms, one above the other, connected by ladders or stairs, or connected from one tree to another by wooden walkways.
I distinguish windows and doors, which are only simple openings in front of the forest. The roofs are made of a pile of very large leaves that go down quite low. And if the materials evoke Robinson Crusoe's cabin, it is not the case of the size of these constructions.
The one Nixx is heading for is big. The main stage must be eight meters long, more if you take into account the small landing platform.
This platform is connected by bamboo footbridges, to other trees and other houses. Nixx puts us gently in front of the entrance of his house. My little finger tells me that contrary to what Eva thinks, it is here that my new life begins.
Nixx
