Chapter 20 Where Life Had Yet To Come
After breakfast, they busied themselves making a few items to take to the store. Yet on both their minds was the worry about what might happen. To have one's memories of a wonderful relationship and creative accomplishment erased, merely for mischief or to rob one's business product potentials, and have no way to defend against it, was a very uncomfortable thought.
They both had their spoons in their pockets, and notes to themselves stashed where hopefully they would find it before the robbers did. But they had not figured out any better thing to do about it. Would they lose it all today, during their little venture to the store with some new goodies for sale? Would they look at each other and ask who are you, afterwards? Yet they could not hide away forever. Hopefully they would be back here together this evening, still in love with each other.
Nansella had an inspiration. "Lets first take the back route to my house again, and leave one of these measuring cups there, with a note in my own handwriting explaining it; put it out of sight but where I would soon find it. That might wake me up some, come seek you out." Geodon welcomed that suggestion; if for no other reason than it would delay the risky store experiment delivering the new products; and would be more time spent with her. He had had far too much of the bachelor life of loneliness without a woman, and did not want to be tossed back into that wretched state again.
So the change of plans; and they were soon off going down the back alley paths of town, a pathway system normally only used by the automated service vehicles. Which, by the way, were active at this time of day, and the two had to scamper out of the way of some of them along the way to her place. Arriving at her house, they took a break and had a good meal, then placed the measuring cup and note to herself about it, explaining her relationship with Geodon in it too, in a safe place which she would find. With a thoughtful look at what might be the next situation in which she sees that cup, they closed the door and were off, going back down the back route to his house.
They decided to make a similar relic to be found by him at his home too, another cast obsidian-like measuring cup, along with a cast spoon; he might recognize the spoon but not the cup. And thus start a chain of questions that hopefully might lead him back to her once again.
Would it be less risky to go to the shop with the new products separately, or together? No answer to that seemed to be obvious to them, so they chose to do it together, because that was how they liked to do things. They did put the measuring cups and table ware in a ordinary carrying case; that ought not attract attention. They were not trying to invite a problem, but they were not shirking a duty despite the apparent severe threat by the powers that be.
They walked the path to the store closely as mated partners would do, carrying their backpack items along with them. Ought not to attract hostile attention. Unless they already were in the target sights.
And they were. As the couple came into view of the round tower, Shirezette alerted Elgecko to the fact. She had noted that something odd had happened, that Nansella seemed to have recovered some of her memory of relationship with Geodon, and that kind of thing had not happened before. Elgecko immediately got apprehensive, was an insurrection in the making out there? He made a reassuring glance at the powerful crossbow and quiver of arrows that hung next to the high slot though which he watched the pair strolling down the street. He could pin them to the pavement right where they were, to expire quickly and unable to move ever again. Elgecko regained his feeling of being ultra-powerful; the situation was not so disturbing after all to him.
PE management also was alerted and soon instructed Shirezette to just monitor what the pair were doing, but take no corrective action yet. They were in control of the situation; no need to worry. The planet was owned and operated by PE and all was well. Elgecko intently watched the inflow of data, first from Geodon and then from Nansella; there was no problem with the monitoring system. The two were taking some products to the store to sell. Was a creative craft kind of activity, within permitted behavior limits, even though most people went to stores to buy things, not to have them sold. Whatever, craft items made for something different to watch and that made the day less boring for Elgecko. He kept his channel connected on Geodon, to see what was up; where he was, most likely Nansella would be also.
Down below, Geodon took a quick glance at Nansella, and she looked back at him. So far, they seemed to still be OK, despite being in the presence of the foreboding prison tower that apparently was associated with their problems. Together they passed the towering prison and soon were at the door of the shop. Going in, The store owner quickly came over to greet Geodon, and receive the little set of tableware which Geodon carried. Asking is that all he had for them, Nansella took out the three measuring cups she had cast, and set them before the wide eyed store owner. He picked one up and noted the lines indicating the various quantities held at their height, just as a metal measuring cup would do; but this one was made of pure obsidian, it seemed. Lightweight and surely would be less contaminating with heavy metals toxicity to the user, as was normally inevitable with the metal ware. He turned it in his hands with admiration awhile, as if it were a treasured museum piece. Setting it down, he again noted there were three of them. All appeared the same. He asked if more of them could be made, and if so, how quickly. Geodon looked over at the cabinets on sale there, ruefully remembering that those items also probably had been thusly appreciated, and yet now their origin and manufacture was entirely disconnected from Geodon. "We are sorry. These items have to be carefully made by hand and only a few can be made at a time. It is great that you like them, would you like to buy them from us?" Geodon replied.
After a little haggling, in which Geodon indicated that it was all of his manufacture lest Nansella be more targeted at this point, the pair walked out of the store, having increased his bank account a sizable amount, and having received a cabinet as part of the payment. "This cabinet is for your place, Nansella" Geodon began. Nansella was being amazed that the product of her playful use of the casting technology had netted her one of the fantastic cabinets that she so admired. It was hers! Geodon carried the cabinet almost as if a shield, holding it between he and the tower, and Nansella protected behind him. Trying to continue to look casual and walking at an even pace, the two got out of sight of the round tower as fast as they could without attracting attention.
Back at Geodon's house, the two collapsed into the chairs cast into the walls of the house when the house was built. It was awhile before Nansella felt like getting up and preparing their meal.
The next morning, the two decided to take the cabinet to her place along the back route. A bit bulky, but manageable. Nansella packed the picnic basket as they intended to make a little side trip on the way back. They got to her house; and Geodon set it down in the place she directed. She admiringly looked at it a few moments, then got some things that were in boxes piled on the floor, and put them inside the cabinet and shut its doors. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed "Thank you very much for this wonderful gift." They suddenly felt a bit hungry for their picnic items, so they returned partway back along the back route. But this time they took a different path through the maze of back service alleys of the town, until they came to a different edge of the town, another place where the great house casting machines was busy placing the insides of a new house, line by line and layer by layer, inside its locked cylindrical shell, enclosing the will-be house filled with sand that will be removed when the house had hardened. They went out just beyond that house under construction; here the path also ended, much as it was near Geodon's home. Black sand extended beyond there, the raw lifeless edge of the original sand-filled depression that made this place fairly unique on the planet. On the other side of town, the expansion was complete, and had grown up against where the black sand was used for growing crops. But on this side, it was raw desert as far as they could see, black sand infilling around a few black projections extending above the sand.
Out here, where life had yet to come, they sat down in the sand and spread their picnic cloth; Nansella distributed the tasty snacks she had prepared. It was a nice warm temperature, and a gentle breeze there. Low sounds came from the cylinder where the house was slowly being scanned in driven by solar power; progress was slow but steady. "This particular machine was the one that had made your house, Nansella, about four years ago." Geodon chattered, making conversation. They needed time out from the stresses of the lake, of the prison tower, even of their craftsmanship activities. Nansella moved to sit beside him, looking out into the desert area; he moved too a bit to rub shoulders together as they munched the goodies in silence, just absorbing the experience. Soon they were relaxing even more, stretched out on the warm sand next to each other, holding hands, the sunshine warming their fronts. Just aware of their breathing, absorbing the sense's impressions, here in this place that most likely the watchful eye of PE management was not watching. And most likely the sharp sting phenomenon would not happen, to take them apart once again.
Nansella woke up first. The sun was now quite low on the horizon, and it already was cooling off due to radiation into the clear night sky. She gently woke Geodon; he sat up, rubbing his eyes. They gathered up the remains of their picnic, putting it into the picnic basket, They looked back at their place of peace and rest for that time; it looked pretty much like the rest of the vast sand filled plain. Life had been there and now was leaving; it was much the same as before.