Читать книгу Antakarana. Quest in Reality - Татьяна Шуклина - Страница 20

***

All players have already gathered at a massive table. They turn around at our steps. BeBe is the first who takes off, runs up and throws herself on my neck:

«Thank God, you are all right! We were going crazy with worry!»

She lets go of me and hugs Alex, continuing to mutter something and sob periodically. My eyes meet Alex’s confused gaze.

«And when did we become such close friends, why are they worried about us?» you can read a mute question on his face.

I am both moved and alarmed by this reaction of BeBe. After all, we are rivals in this game. After her, Planck comes up to us and shakes Alex’s hand for a long time:

«We thought you were lost in the jungle. Even discussed whether to send a rescue team. But it’s simply impossible to find someone in these forests at nightfall.»

Having exchanged pleasantries, we approach the table. Other people expresses their relief and rejoice at our return. Blonda chirps happily with Alex, which surprisingly annoys me. Only the athlete Runner sits silently. After a while, he breaks down and interrupts the general noise:

«It is, of course, good that everyone is there. But the task hasn’t yet been completed, and my stomach is humming. Maybe these two have something to add to our findings?»

Suddenly, a deep sense of shame pierces me: for the whole day with Alex, with all our misadventures, I never remembered Leeloo. My unmerciful consciousness paints her in all colors among the dangerous dark jungle. In panic, I look for a tree in the twilight and breathe a sigh of relief. Leeloo is still sitting beneath it, her head bowed over the tiny figures, and does not even turn her head in our direction. I give myself my word to talk to her after the general meeting.

We sit down at the table and start discussing the day. Alex and I are the first to present our findings and detail the circumstances under which they were discovered. As if by tacit agreement, we don’t mention personal acquaintance with the coordinator’s force, and also in every possible way avoid the details of tomfoolery at the waterfall. We share a secret, and it makes me feel both shame and joy at the same time.

Joleo and BeBe found a green bottle of liquid. On the way, Joleo was constantly talking about the stars, celestial bodies and the mysteries of the Universe. At the same time, he was dreamily looking up at the sky and showimg something to his companion, who nodded her head with excitement, although, of course, she did not see anything there and understood almost nothing from the clever terms of the astronomer. So they found the bird, which in a strange way hovered above the ground and did not move either to the right or to the left. The players were standing with their heads raised for about 5 minutes. The bird still did not move, which seemed extremely unnatural. BeBe was the first to see the thin wire connecting the stuffed bird to the upper branches. Taking a closer look at the tree, the researchers noticed a red Antakarana symbol and a white box hidden in the grass right under the stuffed bird. It was about the element «Air», which became clear from an accompanying note, similar to those we discovered in our findings:

«You don’t notice it at all,

A synonym for «nothing»

But life cannot exist without it.

You only then appreciate it,

When it’s completely fading out.»

Blonda then happily tweets about how Angel first discovered the bottle. Runner is looking at the guy with the angelic face sullenly, but doesn’t interrupt the girl. From the expression on the athlete’s face, it becomes clear that Blonda’s story is extremely unpleasant for him, and Angel’s presence on the team enrages him even more.

«We were walking along the sand coast, and Angel was the first to notice that the huge boulder had an unnaturally rounded groove. Of course, sea water could have carved it, but still we decided to check it out. And so, when the next wave came and covered the stone, the water stood for some time in a round recess, and then began to slowly go somewhere deep into the stone, making an unusual hissing sound. So we discovered that the boulder, or rather its skillfully created and believable model, consisted of two parts. Inside was a bottle of light blue liquid and a note with a riddle:

«It’s quick and sharp, it’s meek and brash,

It can be full and hollow…

It’s human and alien at the same time

What makes it uneasy to follow.

It filled the world with voices and essence,

But at the same time

It’s guarding cherished peace

With its mysterious many-voiced silence.»

Angel smiles modestly and blushes slightly at the girl’s delighted story:

«We are talking about the element «Sound’. Besides something caught our eyes in all these little notes…»

«Wait,» Blonda interrupts him impatiently, «I haven’t told about the last find yet!» she makes a meaningful pause and looks around everyone present, «I found the second bottle of water, or something blue. Could you imagine, we met Magnolia tripetala along the way?!»

She looks at the players so triumphantly and conspiratorially, as if this Magnolia should cause us wild delight. Instead, Blonda sees only puzzled looks. Realizing that this doesn’t mean anything to those present, she sighs and explains further:

«Well, or in simple terms, Magnolia three-petal. It is simply impossible that such a tree can grow in the tropics. Its natural habitat is the southeastern part of North America, from Pennsylvania to Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. In addition, this plant can be grown artificially in the Botanical Gardens. The humid hot climate of the tropics is definitely not suitable for it. Why are you all looking at me like that? I graduated from the Faculty of Biology before starting to work in the fitness studio.»

I catch myself really looking at this girl with open mouth. Indeed, in this place we simply have to forget about prejudices. It is somehow strange to hear such scientific facts from a beautiful long-legged blonde.

«We checked all around, but couldn’t find anything resembling the desired object. Runner was angry that we were losing time, – by these words, she throws a devastating look at the athlete, – then again it was Angel who drew attention to the strange glare on the tree trunk, where, according to all logic, there should be a shadow from the branchy crown. But the intricate play of light and shadow was the key to the solution! So we discovered a cavity in the trunk of the tree and took out a bottle of blue liquid. And guess whay? We have the element Light!»

With these words, she lays the crumpled piece of paper on the table and gives Angel a triumphant look. The guy just smiles modestly and looks away.

«How ridiculous is human in belief

To know everything about this Phenom!

He received his sight thanks to it, no doubt

But, as before, he’s blind to its secrets, so multi-colored.»

«So, a fitness trainer? Do you prefer to deal with oak trees in gym instead of oak trees in nature?» Alex asks. In response, she laughs coquettishly, which makes me angry and I scold myself for it.

Yu chops in:

«I also have something. I took this yellow bottle out of a burnt tree, which, most likely, was hit by lightning. From the text of the note it becomes clear that it’s about the element «Fire»:

«In the hearth, so calm and humble,

It gives you light, comfort, and food, and warmth,

But there is no enemy more dangerous and destructive:

It knows no mercy, if you piss him off.»

All players are really excited, this becomes clear by the gambling gleam in their eyes and the heated discussion of the theses of one or the other participant. We plunged headlong into the puzzle, like children, forgetting about food, rest and the dangers of the past day.

«Yes, we are all crazy about adventures of this kind,» I think to myself with surprise, «what can bind us closer than this almost unhealthy passion?!»

Meanwhile, Planck sums it up:

«Despite our relative success, there are still only six elements on the table, and the seventh is missing for the task completion and a hearty dinner.»

«Oh really?» Runner remarks caustically, «What did you or Martha find? You didn’t have to go that far and strain for the stupid colored bottles.»

«We were analyzing» Planck replies calmly.

«And how is this supposed to help us fill our empty stomachs?» the athlete is not appeased.

«Well, we really didn’t find anything, but we have some thoughts on using these, as you put it, „stupid colored bottles“. Martha, tell them about your guess!»

Surprisingly, in Planck’s speech, I do not hear any aggression or sarcasm. I am amazed at the dignity with which the elderly man reacts to the attacks of the insolent young Runner.

The small, bony woman shyly adjusts her spectacles on the bridge of the nose, tucks a lock of silvery hair behind her ear and clears her throat.

«Just now, Angel was trying to explain what was strange to him in the texts of the notes.»

«I wanted to pay attention to how natural phenomena are constantly opposed to a person,» Angel is embarrassed, «it’s just not clear which side the organizers are on.»

«Well, certainly not on the side of good,» BeBe sighs theatrically.

«We all noticed it,» Alex intervenes, «in riddles the elements prevail over man and demonstrate his insignificance and dependence on nature. It’s clear, however, that Water and Fire give life until they get out of control and destroy entire cities. Without Air, a person will die in a matter of seconds. Life is born from the Earth, which feeds a person and supplies oxygen, but he goes there after his death.»

«The same is with Sound and Light, although they fall out of the general picture a little,» Angel continues, «Light allows a person to see and yet it keeps many secrets and mysteries, for example, in the dark or under water. And this is also a kind of opposition to natural forces – after all, many animals see perfectly under such conditions…»

«And then what do you think is wrong with the Sound?» Runner asks defiantly, looking down at poor Angel.

«The guy is right,» Planck comes to his rescue, «the human ear is able to perceive only sound waves in the negligible range from 16 to 20 kilohertz. Everything below is called infrasound, everything above – ultrasound. Not audible to us, their help many animals communicate with each other.»

«For example, whales and elephants – with infrasound, and bats and some birds – with ultrasound,» Blonda looks at Runner with hostility, as if saying: «Get off Angel.» And I again catch myself thinking how unnatural to receive such explanatory comments from the mouth of such a beauty.

«And yet I still don’t understand how something that we know very well without organizers can help us. Namely, that man in the face of nature is nothing,» BeBe exclaimes emotionally.

Martha is shining all over her face, no longer able to contain her triumph:

«And here is our guess. What if all this is not about opposition or exaltation of man over nature, but, on the contrary, identification? Not the struggle is demonstrated, but that man is a part of nature itself? In other words, we are talking about chakras – a teaching widely practiced in religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism…»

«And also in Tibetan Buddhism! It’s not for nothing that Antakarana symbols are found at the site of each find,» BeBe exclaims in amazement.

«According to the belief of Buddhists, a person has a physical and spiritual origin, and the etheric double is an exact duplicate of the physical body. In this double there are psychic centers – „chakras“. And those multi-colored liquids with which we are dealing, personify mantras, because each chakra has its own color and element!»

«Of course, it’s obvious! Martha, you’re a genius!» I am surprised that this simple thought did not occur to me earlier, because I also did my homework and studied everything related to Tibet. Probably, I was confused by Zhang Kiang’s phrase that the game has nothing to do with Tibetan culture. How then to explain what we are dealing with now?

«Then why these stupid little notes with no less stupid riddles?» Yu sounds surprised.

«To designate which element corresponds to each of the colors and to demonstrate the close connection of the human principle with the forces of nature in order to lead us to the idea of chakras,» Martha concludes.

Inspired by Martha’s hunch, the players vigorously discuss their next steps. We have an idea of the chakras more-less. The elements Earth, Water, Fire and Air don’t raise any questions. It’s more difficult since we are talking about such a complex concept as «ether» – a special medium that fills the world space. But what would our world be without Sound, Light and Thought?

«The last one we miss,» Angel finishes the common thought.

«Even knowing all this, we are still doomed to starve?» Runner grumbles.

There is a silence in responce. He spoke out loud what each of us fears. Even if the riddle is solved and we figure out how to put it into practice, we still miss the seventh element Thought.

Suddenly Joleo, overshadowed by a guess, jumps to his feet and chatters excitedly:

«Wait! All other items were found in specific places: „Earth“ in the earth, „Water“ in water, „Air“ in…»

«We get it, go on,» Yu interrupts impatiently.

«Even Sound and Light are relatively material concepts. Is that so, Planck?» Joleo is addressing the elderly man.

«Absolutely. The first is mechanical vibrations in any environment, and the second is electromagnetic radiation,» he confirms.

«That’s it! The stone hiding the Sound element made hissing unnatural sounds, and the glare of light on the dark tree trunk pointed to the Light. But Thought is immaterial. It cannot be hidden in a specific place, because it is born in a human’s head!»

«In simple terms,» BeBe learned to understand her new friend quite well during today’s short trip, «we ourselves will create the Thought element by mixing colors!»

Frankly, I am amazed at this unexpected solution. There is undeniable logic in the words of Joleo. But what if it’s still a mistake? Time is rapidly coming to an end, and we have no other idea.

«If we are talking about the seventh chakra, then it should be purple,» Martha notes and nervously adjusts a lock of her hair.

«Well, this is known even from school: to get a purple color, you need to mix red and blue, that is, Earth and Light,» Alex reflects.

«W-w-which makes a certain sense if we consider the Earth and Light as the first creations of God,» Joleo suggests, suddenly stuttering.

All this sounds confusing enough and makes you strain your brain to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. We have four elements that make up the basis of life, as Maestro intended: Earth, Air, Water and Fire, and three etheric elements: Sound, Light and Thought. But the final one is a mixture of Earth and Light… Anyone’s brain will boil from this.

«At least worth a try. What are we losing? Here’s what I want to show you: take a look at this table, what do you see?» Planck is full of impatient anticipation.

«Antakarana, the most powerful symbol of the healing of Tibetan monks, we all did our homework,» Runner grins.

It suddenly dawns on me what Planck wants to say.

«Grooves! Seven grooves form sevens, which meet in the center, and then diverge along the three legs of the table,» I exclaim, «we just need to pour liquids into them in the correct sequence from the first chakra to the seventh!»

Planck has already neatly opened one of the bottles and is carefully sniffing its contents.

«Judging by the specific smell, it could be some kind of chemical compounds. I assume that when they are reunited, they will react. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine what exactly these substances are, which means that a chemical reaction can be unpredictable. Therefore, it will be better to move away from the table quickly as soon as the fluids are in the grooves,» he warns.

«And merging them together, You’ll become a little clever,» Yu quotes.

«You’ll still your hunger through awareness», I like even more,» BeBe exclaims happily.

We surround the table and carefully open the bottles in the certain sequence. At the same time, Martha loudly comments on Alex’s actions, who, by a common decision, pours liquids from the bottles into the corresponding grooves:

Red – 1st chakra – element «Earth» – the lower part of the human body

Orange – 2nd chakra – Element «Water» – gastrointestinal tract

Yellow – 3rd chakra – Element «Fire» – abdominal cavity

Green – 4th chakra – Element «Air» – chest

Blue – 5th chakra – Element «Sound» – hearing, blood

Blue (indigo) – 6th chakra – Element «Light» – sight

Once in the grooves, the liquids begin to slowly flow towards the table legs. This is a mesmerizing sight. The Antakarana sign is being painted with all colors of the rainbow and seems to become filled with life. Alex pours the rest of the red substance into the seventh groove and neatly adds to it what is left of the blue bottle. While doing this the perspiration from exertion appears on his forehead.

For several seconds, the blue liquid spreads over the red one and penetrates into it, forming a bright purple color.

Purple – 7th chakra – Element Thought – feelings, higher consciousness, planetary mind.

After that, we quickly run away from the table and wait, holding our breath, what will happen next. Finally, all seven grooves are completely filled and bright liquids flow down the legs into the ground or a reservoir under the table – we can only guess about this. At first, nothing happens, then a faint hiss appears – a proof that the elements have entered into a reaction. A few seconds pass, and a loud clink of metal is heard. Then everything subsides. Runner is the first to dare to budge:

There is a hatch under the table, and it seems to have opened.

We are mindfully examining the mechanism. The hatch is acuratelly camouflaged with grass, or rather, the grass grows unhindered on it and, judging by the height and density, for a long time. Outside, it was fixed on a heavy bolt, which melted as a result of a chemical reaction caused by the elements.

Alex and Runner open the cover to reveal steps leading into the ground. From there it blows terribly cold. At first, the players stand in indecision: no one wants to go down into a gloomy ice dungeon. Alex volunteers to go first. However, as soon as he touches the top step, a small underground room is illuminated by halogen light.

It immediately becomes clear where the cold is coming from: this is a huge refrigerator with walls, floor and ceiling laid out with modern materials, and furnished with separate refrigeration chambers. On one of them the title «Meat» can be seen, on the second – «Vegetables», on the third – «Groats», on the fourth – «Seafood» and so on. All dishes are packed in tubes and jars, similar to those that astronauts or military men receive in their diet. At the entrance you can see a wardrobe with shelves. There are trays, napkins, cutlery, plates, various spices and other necessary little things.

«The organizers continue to surprice with their unprecedented generosity,» Alex notes sarcastically.

«There is even a chamber with the the title «Dessert’,» Blonda sighs, «probably some kind of liquid tasteless substance with added sugar. I prefer to refuse such a dessert.»

«I bet the same substance is listed as Soups when salt is added. I don’t know about you, but I am terribly hungry after an exciting expedition through the friendly jungle,» Alex collects a few tubes and jars on a tray. We follow his example.

Suddenly my attention is drawn to the back of the hatch. A small rounded stone is inserted into it, on the surface of which there is an inscription, more precisely, the fraction «1/4».

«What is it?» I point in the direction of my find.

We have been looking at the stone for some time, but cannot find any use for it.

«I have a thought,» Planck announces, «when formulating the task, Maestro said:“ You will become a little clever». Perhaps this is the first step to the final puzzle. Anyway, it’s a good idea to save the pebble for later play.»

With these words, he deftly picks out the trophy from the hatch.

Once on the surface with trays full of food (I took food for myself and for Leeloo, deciding to visit her before bed and discuss the events of the day), I check the time: 20:00. There is only one hour left to dine, shower and go to bed if I don’t want to re-experience the coordinator.

All evening we were so carried away with deciphering the keys to the riddle that no one raised the topic of the coordinators built into the shoulders. I wonder if the other players have found out anything or is this just our discovery with Alex? Now I am experiencing only a wild feeling of hunger and cannot wait to swallow these unappetizing tubes in one gulp. Therefore, we wish each other good night and go to our cells.

In my cell, I pounce on food. Expectations are confirmed – it is absolutely bland, nevertheless, never before had lasagna in the form of cold tube paste and tomato soup yellow for some reason seemed so appetizing to me.

Finally, I can calmly reflect on all the oddities happening to us in this place. But I don’t come to it, as there is a soft knock at the door. To my great joy, Leeloo’s curious face appears at the invitation to enter the doorway. We sit down on the floor opposite each other, and I briefly talk about our adventures in the jungle, while simultaneously devouring a humble supper. During all story, Leeloo has been looking at me with serious eyes, which I think are full of reproach:

«I was worried about you and afraid that you would not return. Then I would be left all alone.»

«Leeloo, I think you should get to know other players better. They make a good impression on me. Today we worked as one team. Alone, it’s unlikely that we would have been able to solve the riddle and enjoy these delicious dishes,» I assure her and amazed at the enthusiasm in my own voice.

I make a grimace at the word «delicious,» but Leeloo remains serious. She leans closer to me and whispers:

«I don’t trust anyone here but you. They can be good people in life. But when the stakes are so high, you never know who to expect a knife in the back from.»

«For example, Alex, BeBe and Planck seem to be quite sincere. I’m sure we could…»

«No!» Leeloo abruptly cuts me off. «We don’t know anything about them yet. It wasn’t for nothing that we were gathered at this place. I feel danger from each of them. We aren’t friends here, Lavina, and this game is not fun at all. There is something sinister behind it all.»

I feel uncomfortable with her words. Leeloo is not joking, as evidenced by her worried look and anxious forehead crease. What did the baby go through in this life that made her so incredulous and even hostile to people?

«Leeloo, hasn’t anyone tried to talk to you and get to know you better?» I wonder.

«Everyone tried on the plane. I ignored them, and even now I prefer to stay away. I don’t care what they think of me and if they think at all. As long as no one pays attention to me, I feel safe.»

Suddenly she moves closer to me and gently rests her head on my shoulder.

«I always wanted to have a sister like you.»

This innocent childish gesture after such frightening words touches me to the core.

«I’ll take care of you, Leeloo, don’t worry. Both now and after the game.»

«I have no doubt,» she gives me a warm smile, «and now I have to go before the coordinator knocks me out somewhere in the corridor.»

«Do you know about the coordinator?» I exclaim in amazement. Did she really have to go through the same unbearable pain that I myself experienced in the jungle today?! But how could this happen if she doesn’t communicate with anyone? What rule did Leeloo break?

She winks slyly at me:

«I hinted to you that I am much smarter than many here.»

«Where are you from? What is your native language?»

«It doesn’t matter if I can’t speak it.»

«But how did you know about the coordinator?» I still wonder.

«Look what happens to us: how quickly we fall asleep and wake up, how terribly the head hurts in the morning and the fact that no one dares to speak their native language. Even you and Alex speak exclusively English to each other.»

I cannot believe. It sounds that simple…

«Do you think others already know about this?» I ask.

«Maybe the athlete still has no idea. But between us, he’s not very smart.»

We laugh softly, she blows me a kiss and leaves the cell.

I quickly kick off my dirt and sweat-soiled clothes, take a cold shower, and check my watch.

A white overall hangs from the back of the chair. It looks like a wetsuit. It is solid and ends with lightweight boots with a thick rubber sole. Hmm. A strange choice for pajamas. However, I pull on tight clothing – not without difficulties, which turns out to be very light and quite comfortable. Even the rubber outsole weighs almost nothing.

I still have twelve minutes before the coordinator turns off consciousness. Okay.

I will spend precious time analyzing this day. But instead, all my thoughts are spinning around a strange girl. I need to find out her secret. What is hidden behind those sad eyes that causes in her such fear and distrust of people?

At exactly 9:00 pm, I fall into a deep, empty sleep.