Soul Searching
Posted on 08 Jan 2023 @ 6:54am by Brek - Timeless Treasures Art Gallery
Mission:
M3 - Into the Deep
Location: Volchok, Trading Center, Coastal Lagoon - Ferengi Space
Timeline: Backstory: Winter 2379
1682 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure
“You are telling me that there is such a thing as a ‘great oracle’ on this planet and that she lives in this very area?” Brek asked, not believing a word of the tall tale that his friend Neph had just told him. A crazy story about an old woman who knew everything about everyone. She had what Neph called ‘a gift’.
They had traveled for three hours to find this spot of seashore, fancifully called ‘Coastal Lagoon’, yet to all eyes it looked like a creepy swamp: layers of grayish land, soaked with water and further, the lagoon: horribly brown. Still, despite its poor appearance it was a free zone. One of those rare areas where it was free to fish, collect barnacles and snails or even sunbathe - if you were brave enough to expose your delicate skin to the anemic winter sun. In Brek’s opinion, even those tough Klingons wouldn’t want to do that. Although, on second thought, of course they would. All you had to do was to question their courage. In the same way, you can question a Ferengi’s profits, and he too will do silly things.
Anywhere else, the coastline was marked by a forest of signs, ‘shouting’ to whoever happened to glance at them that this beach, landslip, muddy estuary, salt marsh, sub maritime zone etc. was off limits. That it was privately owned and that any interaction with the land or the sea was prohibited. You couldn’t even fart in those dunes because you could be sure that there would be a drone in the sky, and it would see, film and fine you on the spot.
Here, though, by the lagoon, it was all quiet, to the point of abandonment. No one seemed to be interested in this stretch of landscape, which was odd. To Brek, it looked like an ideal place to bury radioactive containers and other pollutants. With this place being so far away from the trading center, heck, you could even bury your dead here.
“The Lady’s definitely got a gift.” Neph finally replied. “But she won’t talk if we go to her place empty handed. So we’d better collect a few goodies for her. Starfish is a favorite.”
“You sound like an expert... I must say,” Brek added, taking in the desolation all around them. Icy puddles of water everywhere, and, what rattled him the most, an endless horizon. It was like looking at an infinite sea of possibilities. The stagnant kind. You could take any direction, you would still have the impression you had not moved. “I wanted to write an ‘ode to the bleak’ and this lagoon, well, it’s just the ticket. In essence, this zone is free because no one wants to have anything to do with it.”
The two friends stared at each other for a long minute. Brek had not wanted to travel so far just to get cold and so terribly bored. Plus he felt ugly. They were both wearing fur coats that made them look like some old and out of luck birds of prey. Neph on his side was fed up with Brek because he was a troublemaker. Always wanting to interfere with other people’s business.
“Believe me, you need the quietude, Brek. It will be good for your soul.” Neph countered. “If you search for it, you may even find it. Though what we really need, right now, is a few starfish, for our host. Let’s go for ten each. Pick the red and white ones, they are the best.”
Brek grunted, but he figured that if he stalled too much, he would be stuck here till the dark hours and he would miss two hot meals. It wasn’t worth it. So the hunt for marine life started. It even did him good to focus on one single task. It gave him clarity, and he achieved that wondrous thing that Ms Lena had recently mentioned to him: he lived in the moment. Time had stopped and nothing existed beyond this seashore and the cold sun.
Only, the minutes had continued to run of course, and after some fifty of them, (once they had gathered their count of Starfish and packed them inside the large leaves of some algae species), Neph directed them toward the cabin where the ‘oracle’ resided.
How do you picture an ‘oracle’? Do you figure an old shapeless witch living in a filthy slum? Or do you go for the priestess image, young, diaphane and either kind or cruel? The specimen presented to Brek was most certainly in her thirties. She favored purple clothes, and her little wooden hut was decorated with hundreds of candles, neatly aligned on shelves. She was then a sham, who lived in a fire hazard. He wouldn’t be surprised if, among her many ‘talents’ she could also do palm reading...
“You must be my 1400 appointment,” the ‘oracle’ said as soon as Brek presented himself with his bundle of stinky starfish. “My name is Ery. Please, sit down.”
There was no chair, and despite the profusion of candles, the tiny room remained quite dark, making it impossible to really see the features of his interlocutor. Although it was impossible not to see that she was indeed Ferengi. Mimicking the scam artist, he knelt on the floor, and he pushed the stack of starfish towards the oracle.
“I’ve got your gift,” he said, by means of introduction. “So, what is it that you do? You cast runes and this allows you to see the future?” He grinned. “How long does a session take? That’s what I’d like to know? Some of us are very busy people...”
Ery placed the starfish behind her and she produced a satchel, from which she took a handful of runes. She then had the nerves to cast them right in front of him, on the dusty floor. They made no sound, and that surprised Brek a little, but not enough to wipe the smirk off his face. “I knew you’d have a set of those thingies. You can get them for next to nothing on Ferenginar.”
“You speak too much, young man. Are you nervous?”
The woman was now staring at him and Brek shrugged. “Of course not. I’m just making what is known as ‘conversation’. You may have heard of it.”
“The machinations of men are of no consequence here. Please, be quiet.” Ery now looked at the runes and frowned at them. A typical move, Brek thought. She would soon be announcing all sorts of doom and gloom and no doubt tell him that he was destined for the stars. That he was meant to leave Volchok and find his fortune on Risa, which is exactly what Neph kept repeating he should do. How much had the ‘oracle’ been paid to perform this pathetic circus?
“It will take another six years before you find your voice, young man. Until then you will...”
“Stay on Volchok?” He interrupted, hopeful. He would like that to happen. This trading center was dangerous, it was true, but it was also undemanding, and he enjoyed the freedom this planet brought him.
She stared at him once more, showing patience, but not, he noticed, any kindness. “If it is what you want. This said, you will only reach your true potential once you’ve left Ferengi space. You don’t belong to us.”
“I guess this is where you tell me that I belong to Risa...” Brek added with a sigh. “I just knew it...”
Ery took one of the runes, on which three little circles were carved. “Risa is complicated. It doesn’t have to be on your path, but it probably will be. You will lose everything but your life over there. But it will also be your redemption. Volchok won’t give you a chance to grow, or to acquire any sort of wealth.”
“Are you saying I’ll become wealthy if I go to Risa?” Brek asked, a little bit more curious now.
“No. I’m saying you’ll become poor, and after that, you’ll find your true voice. On Volchok, you don’t find anything. You stay as you are now.”
“Right now, I’m happy.”
“Yes. So, eternal happiness is within your reach if you stay on Volchok. For wealth, consideration, and even love, you’ll need to travel.”
Brek glanced at the runes and then he focused on Ery’s hazy features. “My love life is defined in those tokens?” It was a ludicrous concept, and yet it had caught his interest. “How many wives do these runes say I will have?”
“I see three meaningful encounters.”
“But no wives.”
“Fate is not a strict map. It is more like a compass. In your line of work, there will likely be three women who will mean a lot to you. Circumstances and opportunities will complete the picture.”
“Hmm... Those are two long phrases that don't say a lot...”
“They nonetheless speak of fulfillment. And this is all I have for you, young man. You may go.”
She didn’t move though, and he didn’t either. He wanted to question her some more, about Risa, about his line of work, and the women the oracle had mentioned, but he struggled to find his words. The idea that the future was at least partially written made so little sense to him...
The empty moment might have lasted for several more minutes, but fate intervened in the shape of the oracle’ next client. The man, whom Brek recognized as a prominent Ferengi financier, entered the little cabin with a profusion of words, paying his respect to the great prophetess. There was suddenly no room, physical or spiritual, for the little bookkeeper, and so he took his leave. Once outside, he was dazzled by the crisp light of the winter sun.
What had happened in the cabin? He wasn’t entirely sure...
