Zollocco: A Novel of Another Universe Read online

  Zollocco:

  A Novel of Another Universe

  by

  Cynthia Joyce Clay

  copyright © 2000 Cynthia Joyce Clay All rights reserved.

  2nd Edition 2004

  This is a work of fiction.

  paperback ISBN: 1-59467-783-8

  e-book ISBN: 1-59457-819-2

  Library of Congress Catalog Control Number: 200411965

  Publisher: BookSurge, LLC North Charleston, South Carolina

  Oestera Publishing LCC www.oestarapublishing.com

  Fondly dedicated to Jill Clay, cousin and fellow writer

  Other works by Cynthia Joyce Clay

  New Myths of Feminine Divine

  Vector Theory and Plot Structures of Literature and Drama

  The Romance of the Unicorn Scylla: A Noh Play

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 The Forest Zollocco 7 Chapter 2 The Remembered Tongue 31 Chapter 3 Zitam 49 Chapter 4 The City of Waves 79 First Intermezzo 97 Chapter 5 The City of Ichloz 101 Chapter 6 The Forest of the Blue Dawn 115 Chapter 7 The Blue Dawn 136 Chapter 8 Intrusion 150 Chapter 9 Oasis 164 Second Intermezzo 184 Chapter 10 Troubadour 188 Chapter 11 Troubadour Tales 195 Chapter 12 The Words of Apparitions 207 Chapter 13 Arachnid's Trap 229 Chapter 14 Cavern 241 Chapter 15 Speaking 253 Chapter 16 Pterodactyl 262 Chapter 17 Orchard 273 Mezzo 293

  CHAPTER ONE: The Forest Zollocco”

  We are aware that a human being has landed in Our berry dell. From Our smallest truffles to Our greatest Haetrist, We are annoyed and indignant. We have forbidden human beings Ourself as a home because all the weak, sniveling things do is get sick and die when they try to adjust to Our life. Every berry, bush, bird, and beast was looking forward to adopting a new, strong creature, which We thought a creature must be if it could fly the great distances between planets. Were We surprised! Humans are inorganic creatures. They fly around in enormous metal cans and eat out of tiny metal cans. Even their babies come out of cans. Disgusting. This one crawled out of its flying house-can this morning; long after Our day creatures had greeted with stretches the rosy-gold sunshine. Our tall stalk-vegetation reports that the human looks just as gray, weak, and sickly as it can be. The grass says the human ate out of one of its little cans and then threw up in the rock basin. At least it has some manners and doesn't puke on Our grass. It smells horribly stale, too, the furry creatures say. Of course it stinks, it has been cooped-up in its flyingcan home. Even though this human does look distinctly female, We are of accord not to let it come among Us. We don't want any inorganic creature in Our presence. The tenderhearted moss still has not quite gotten over the trauma of seeing life growing out of a can of chemicals. The dell life is keeping a pretty strict watch on this human. The human is trying to come among Us! Get out of here you sickly wretch! Beat it, you smelly old human! Get back in your can! Go back to your own kind!

  Hoping to find some fresh vegetables to eat instead of the horrible, canned, gray glop, which had made me ill, I approached the aromatic tree line. To my amazement, the woods burst into a loud staccato screech, as if the trees themselves were scolding me.

  "Oh, shut up!" I yelled in hungry irritation. Eerily, abruptly, a dead silence fell. I entered the woods with some difficulty because the thorns on the plants kept scratching me as I passed. A few paces in, a sudden swarm of gnats surrounded me. I took a couple of hurried steps to get clear of the growing cloud of bugs, but they followed and bit me. I turned around and headed back to my module as fast as I could.

  The human being wept when We drove it out. This torments some of Us with pity. Our entire life is made up of the constant death and replenishment of the lives of individual members. Fortunately, We are a sturdy lot and Our members seldom die from disease like in some Forests. We die to feed Ourselves. But when a single human dies it is horrible. It is part of no Forest to replenish, and its consciousness is almost as vast as a Forest being. Seldom does a Forest die, but every human dies. It makes many of Us angry that this human does not leave. It will just die if it stays here. There is no can food for it. Why doesn't it fly its house to a settlement? Perhaps it is too weak to work the controls of its can. The human sleeps. It is impossible to commune with most humans, but usually it is possible to converse on a very low level with their basic physical states. Maybe We will be able to make it clear to the human's body that it must leave Us in order to survive. Since humans are supposed to be mammals, We align Our mammal self with it. Now this is incredibly strange. The human stomach and intestines insist that the canned food is what made it ill. The skin and lungs insist that the sunshine makes it feel better. The body claims it wants fresh food, fresh water, and sunshine.This human must be so far gone it doesn't know what it wants. To gauge the truth of its answers We ask if it is fertile. The body answers "no/yes". What kind of answer is that?

  "No/Yes"? The human suffers bodily delirium. The human is disturbed by Our conversation. It is waking up. We withdraw.

  I awoke from my sleep with the groggy notion that I just had to get into the forest and find a stream. I didn't think the strange little rock basin would have clean water. It looked murky, and it bubbled. I took a spray bottle of ammonia with me as I once again headed toward the trees. This time when the bugs began to swarm, I let them have it with the ammonia. So, I was able to progress a little further into the woods. I was still only a little way in when the density of the tree growth increased. I had to push branches out of my way to get through. Then gently pushing no longer had any effect. I pushed harder. The limbs of the trees wouldn't budge. I tried to crawl under them, but the lower branches and plants were also suddenly and uncompromisingly stiff. For the second time, I had to return to my module without finding a spring.

  Moss is claiming that a ghost is standing on them. Sometimes it is such a blessing to have such supersensitive moss. We will awaken Our iridescent opium in order to view the ghost. The opium drowsily obliges although it is a dark space of the night's time. The ghost is the human's, and is kneeling down and drinking some water. The ghost stands and looks around wonderingly. The moss says the ghost did not walk to the stream; it just suddenly appeared standing atop the moss. Well, the human must be dead, but We'd better check. Luckily, the human did not seal shut its house can. We need a volunteer to enter the human's can to see if it is alive. Relentlessdrill, the mosquito, has agreed to do so. It takes such concentration to focus consciousness into the tiny mind of a single insect, and insects are so limited in what they can discover for Us. We'd better awaken Zollocco in order to have full specified awareness.

  Zollocco is such a clever Haetrist! Zollocco feels the mosquito rising and falling with the crests of the human's breath. Since the human is still alive, the mosquito asks if it may make a meal on it. Zollocco ponders a bit before he decides. No, he says, the human needs every bit of its blood. The leech mice think that Zollocco is making a pretty lame excuse. The rest of Us concur. The leech mice squeak that Zollocco loves the human. The birches sway in agreement that Zollocco feels tenderhearted toward it. Who would have thought Zollocco with his great fangs and ape strength would have a soft spot for a little human being?

  There is a great twitter from the stream area. Zollocco runs to the place to have a talk with the ghost. He assumes the sight of his great furry hide would frighten the ghost, so he politely hides

  His voice calls to the ghost, "Where are you going?" The ghost transmits a picture of the house can to Zollocco. Zollocco decides to use the Remembered Tongue. The ghost surprisingly accepts and understands the speech of inner consciousness. This is very rare among humans. Zollocco asks the ghost why it walks instead of transmitting itself back to its body.


  "So that I can find my way to the stream again tomorrow."

  Such a stubborn human! If it comes to the stream tomorrow it will find out what's what. Zollocco asks it why it isn't afraid of him.

  "Because this is just a dream and you are not really there."

  Zollocco, and so Ourself, is miffed. Zollocco asks it how it can say he isn't there when it is talking to him.

  "I'm not talking to anyone, I'm asleep."

  Did any entity ever hear of such stupidity? Zollocco, curious about how far such stupidity will reach, continues the conversation.

  "But if you walk this way to the stream tomorrow," he says, "you will know that you spoke to me tonight."

  "No, I won't. I won't remember. My rational self will just

  consider finding the stream mindless luck."

  Our entire Self feels unease. Zollocco, Our quickwitted Haetrist, immediately figures out why, and asks the ghost the question which troubles Us, "How did you find the stream in the first place?"

  "I needed it and then I was there."

  We are stunned. Need-discovery can only be practiced by a Forest creature.

  "And since you always know where your body is, you walk back to show yourself the way?"

  "Yes, but I don't know I am doing this, or rather, I only think I'm doing this but actually I'm just dreaming."

  Our whole night-Self watches the ghost return to its can.

  A water elm speaks up, "The ghost is healthy, but the body isn't. The human must expect to get well."

  Our day-Self awakens, eagerly chatting about the human. Our night-Self drifts off to sleep, too tired to take part in the gossip.

  The next morning when I awoke, I grabbed a fire axe, the ammonia, and headed into the woods. This time when the branches stiffened, I chopped them away with the axe. I didn't know where I was going, but I was determined to find a stream. Above, birds with red, orange, and pink skins glided shrieking. The birds did not have feathers, and as I watched, some molted in mid-flight. The strange skins fell down around me. I heard a splash, and hurried as fast as I could through the inhospitable vegetation. One of the skins had fallen into a clear, beautiful stream. I fell to my knees on the soft moss beside the water. I was just about to plunge my hands into the water when it began to boil. I couldn't help feeling that the woods did not want me there. I looked up at the trees. Gazing upwards, I felt something drip on my face. The sun was shining. I looked carefully above me. Water was dripping from the branches of a tree that resembled an elm. I stood and pulled a branch down towards me. The branch and leaves were covered with dew. I licked the water off carefully, gratefully.

  Parts of Us definitely feel sorry for this human. We still wish it would go away. We feel rather angry that it makes Us give in to it. First Zollocco refuses to allow the mosquito to make a meal of it; and then the moss says the human's step is gentle and the soles of its feet are pleasantly warm; and then a tree, of all beings the water elm, collects and drips dew for it to drink. The gnats who lost some of their number to the human's ammonia are justifiably furious. The vegetation, which knows itself to be a favorite food of humans, fears being canned. The more short-tempered beings among Us are affronted by the human's disregard for the Law, and want to bite the human. Many others of Our carnivorous variety would not mind sampling its meat and organs. Most of Us are quite aggravated that a tree has decided to take the human's part. Moss is usually complacent and will bend to the will of the majority. A Haetrist can be reasoned with. But when a tree disagrees, then We are in danger of being in opposition to the Law, the fuller consciousness of Our darling planet. We are first and foremost a Forest, A Forest among Forests, The World Forest Ipernia. When a tree disagrees with the temper of the community, every member of the community directly mingles its consciousness with the tree and the beings who agree with the tree. So, We do this now. In the commotion of this direct contact, We feel a presence--but then it is gone. Perhaps it was just the intenseness of Our concentration which made Us feel an extra element of being.

  After feeling the water elm's caring for the human, some of Us are very jealous of the human. After drinking the water the water elm provided, the human takes off its clothes and throws them into the boiling water. Curious, We continue to make the water boil. The human finds a dead stick and stirs its clothes in the water, and then flings them with the stick onto a sun-baked rock to dry. We just know this human will try to eat some one of Us next. We wonder which of Us it will try to sample. Some of Us want to put an end to this human.

  At least I was able to wash my clothes, but how I wanted a bath and something to eat. As I sat on rocks by the stream, wiggling my toes, falling into a reverie while my steaming clothes dried, I was startled by a movement near my heels. I jerked back my feet, grabbed my axe, and jumped up, heart throbbing with wrath. My hypersensitive state brought about by hunger had saved me from the strike of a large, drooling snake. I lopped off the snake's head. My anger instantly gave way to sheer joy--now I had fresh meat for supper! The snake's body twitched and jerked on the moss. I had the sense of something amiss. Then I realized what it was; the entire forest was hushed. I felt as though everything was staring at me. I looked at the decapitated snake. The body still spasmodically thumped around on the moss. Several times I had to prevent it from falling into the stream by pushing it back with my stick. The sickening sound of the body jerking and the strange silence of the forest seemed to last an eternity. The head had dropped amid the roots of a nearby tree. The snake eyes stared at me sightlessly. I began to feel weak and dizzy. At last the snake body lay still. I picked up the long body and dragged it home. There was not asound as I walked. Once at the module, I cooked the snake and ate it. How good it tasted! After eating I fell contentedly to sleep, feeling better than I had in days.

  Many of Us are still very amused by the spirit and resourcefulness the human showed when the viper tried to kill it. For a human to kill a Forest creature in a non-hosting Forest is very much against the Law, and it did shock Us, but We are aware the human was hungry, and the viper would have had nothing to gain by killing the human. Our Twin Sister Forest, Kiappia, hosts the nearby school and allows those people to make occasional forays through Herself. Kiappia is overpopulated with flora and fauna the humans like to eat, but still We don't know how She bears having whole groups of humans running through Her. Some of Our seeds have flown off on the winds to tell Kiappia and the other Forests the exciting things thatare happening with Us. We are quite impressed that the human has not gotten sick from the viper meat. In fact, the human gobbled the viper meat up as though it hadn't had a decent meal in a long time. We can't help feeling pleased with the human's happiness in the meal of Ourself. Why, We felt the human's pleasure in the meal without having to make any kind of effort in aligning with its consciousness. This is amazing! Maybe We will be able to adopt the human. Many of Our Fellow Forests host human settlements, but no-One has ever adopted one! Maybe We, Zollocco, will be the first! That would be a thrill!

  We need to know more about this human. We will make contact with its physical self again to see if its health is really improving. Also, We shall ask Zollocco to search its dreams for information about where it came from. As exciting as these events have been, it is still stressful to Us to have an alien thing among Us. We may allow this human to visit Us, but live with Us? No. Adopting is out of the question.

  Upon awakening the next morning, I promptly ventured into the woods. Along with my axe and ammonia, I carried some snake meat for a meal. I made my way again to the stream, this time in hope of following the stream to its source. I made my way slowly alongside the flowing water, and was delighted to find that the stream originated in a pond not far away. The pond had beautiful, gold lilies growing in it, but lilies and pond alike were being choked by what looked like kelp. There were green birds sailing through the water eating the kelp. From a tree overhanging the pond swung an octopus! Two of the octopus's limbs clung to the branches of the tree, the rest stuff
ed kelp and gold lilies between its bulbous lips. The movement of the long arms was dainty and rhythmical as the muscular, suction-cup-lined limbs darted, one by one, in and out of the water. Droplets of water from the kelp and lilies dribbled from the octopus' limbs, and the droplets caught the sunlight and glistened. The sight had a beauty to it that was marred by the disgusting slurping sounds the animal made as it fed. As I watched, half terrified, half laughing, I suddenly remembered a dream I had had the night before. I had dreamed of my hands scooping kelp out of the water. At this point, the octopus caught sight of me and fled. I was relieved; I didn't want to wade in the water with an octopus hanging overhead. I took off my boots, rolled up my pants, and waded. The water felt briskly cold around my ankles. The lilies floated away from me, leaving an expanse of water. Inviting as it looked, it was too cold for a swim. I did splash some of the frigid water on my face. I waded over to a patch of kelp, scooped up a few strands, and on impulse ate it. It was quite tasty.

  So far, this human is easily governable when We consult with its bodily needs. It seems to have a great need for the iron and B vitamins in Our kelp, so We are sure it will eat more of Our kelp every new day. This is a relief, for otherwise the pond would soon fall into disease from kelp over-crowding and infect Us all. The human needs to relieve itself. Some ivy wants to place its leaves handy for the human to wipe itself with. Even the water elm thinks this would be a good joke. Humans always seem so embarrassed when they have to scratch their behinds. The human seems to know about the effects the ivy would have on it, because it is carefully avoiding the ivy.