"Fiery Birds", Part VII

As Zho's fear became replaced more and more by curiosity, more questions came to his mind, more than they ever had. Who were they? Where was Mars? What else did they know?

But they had questions for Zho as well.

"How long have you wanted to 'know things'?"

"Have you explored before?"

"Do you make things?"

He answered them all.

"My whole life."

"Only a little."

"All the time."

His health needed attention first. It would be a couple of days before they would ask more questions. For now, he was given a room that sat overlooking the water, where at night he could watch the skyboats on their humming flights up into the sky. The room was a pleasant off white in color, with a glassy black floor. He also had the largest bed he had ever seen. These Martians seemed very kind, but odd. Not like his people, the Neander. 

What an odd name.

Within a couple days, they took him to a room that had slightly orange walls and sat him down at a table. The table had a glassy surface that looked pearly white. An image appeared on the table of a red square, and below it a series of smaller red pieces.

"Zho," Dr. Trant asked, "which pieces to you need to make a square just like that red one?"

This was easy, Zho thought, and moved four pieces, building a red square of the same size. Then he went one further, and used the remaining pieces to make another, smaller square.

Dr. Trant laughed. "I never thought of that," she said, "would you like to do more?"

"Yes, please," Zho said.

-

Dr. Trant went over the information several times. This Neander, a term she hated, was one of the most intelligent of the species she had encountered, definitely more intelligent than the many others who had made the trek north. As Zho was testing with her earlier, two scanners in the room monitored his brain activity. 

He was different in so many ways. And his potential was great.

She decided that it was time to explain a little more to Zho, to see how he would handle it.

-

Zho had no idea where he was being taken to. The two Martian men who walked him down the stark white corridor said nothing, and unlike the others he had seen, who had been wearing white, wore colors of blue and tan on their trousers, with dark gray tops. They were silent, and bulkier than the other Martians he had seen.

This time, they didn't use the small room. That room was scary the first time he went into it. He could feel it move beneath his feet, and when it stopped, the door opened to new corridors. This time, they just took the corridor outside his room, but in the other direction, which curved in a large arch. 

They arrived at a metal door. One of the Martians took something out of his pocket and held it over a green square next to the door. The door made a loud "click", and they pushed the door open. 

They were outside. 

This was a small field of grass, where a tree stood, and on three sides the large buildings stood, with their mirror like windows. These buildings weren't very tall, maybe no more than a pine tree. The field also faced the sea, which appeared far below.

Dr. Trant was sitting on a bench next to the tree. She remained seated as they approached.

"Thank you, I'll take it from here," she said.

"The Chancellor wants us to stand by," one of the bigger Martians said.

"He's no threat, whereas you are. Please, we'll be fine," she said.

The two men made half bows, and walked back to the doorway.

Dr. Trant looked at Zho.

"Can I tell you a story?" she asked.

"Yes."

"If you don't understand something, please let me know, will you?"

"I will," Zho said.

"Good. First, I'd like to tell you that I was not honest about what we call ourselves."

Zho furrowed his brow,"why?"

"Because I was not sure how you would take it. We are what are called humans. We come from Mars, but that is not where we are from originally. We returned to Mars a long time ago, and then came back here. This... place, all of it," she motioned with her hands, making a large, sweeping gesture, "this place is called Earth. It is a world..."

"What do you mean, it is a world?" Zho asked.

"Maybe we should wait..."

"No, tell me."

"Alright. A world is like... a land, but it is round, like a ball, and it is very big. It goes around the even bigger Sun," she said, pointing skyward. "The Earth is a world, and it's round, like the Sun. There are many worlds that go around the Sun."

"Like the Bringer of Sunset?"

"Yes. That world is called Venus, and it is almost the same size as this one, Earth."

"How about the Blood Wanderer?" Zho asked, excitedly.

"That is Mars. It is smaller than Earth."

"And it is where you are from?"

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I was born on Earth. Most of us here are from Earth. But we came here from Mars."

"Is... Mars?... like Earth?"

"No," she said, "we have only one sea, and a few forests. Mars is very cold and dry."

"But Mars is red, like fire."

"Zho, red is not always hotter," Dr. Trant smiled.

"And Giuve?"

"The biggest world going around the Sun, Jupiter."

The discussion turned to talking about the worlds, and how they went around the great yellow ball of the Sun. 

Zho now knew more than any of his people ever had.