8 A Digital Manuscript

They danced and circled around the flames while chanting under their breaths. A giant circular stone was placed in the middle of the ritual. Their expressions speak volumes of their beliefs, placing absolute confidence in the sentience of the stone. Could this be how it all began? Is it fear that drives consciousness to bow down to matter? Quite a distance away, a pair of eyes was witnessing the whole ritual in between the bushes. Robin was careful with his steps. He does not wish to be sacrificial goat for the primitive people. He wondered whether if he had faith, would it make a difference? Will he be stronger and make better decisions? But is that considered hope, or self-deception?

Robin slowly moved through the thick shrubs, hoping not to be detected by them. As the tribe was busy performing their sacrifices to the breathless stone, a child was busy catching insects. Perhaps, he does not know what is going on, or he might be wondering why are they offering objects to an ordinary rock. Yet, his thinking mind might be forcefully told to accept the unknown without questions. The child was distracted by the movement in between the bushes. He stopped and looked carefully. He saw a figure, and screamed. The tribesmen were alerted and looked at the direction the boy was pointing, and they ran with spears towards Robin.

Robin avoided the spears and ran as fast as he could, like a panicked deer being chased by cheetahs. He knew they were too fast and will not give up easily. He quickly grabbed his shield dome and turned it on. The tribesmen stood in fear and awe looking at the blue aura surrounded the outcaste.

'G..g..general! YOU THERE?!' Robin yelled through the Commune.

'What's wrong, kid?' Kael asked.

'I am surrounding by a group of primitive people, ready to stab me with their spears. But they couldn't penetrate the shield dome. What should I do now?'

'Use that bloody gun and shoot one guy. Probably the oldest one. The rest will run away for good. Try it.' Kael replied.

Robin kept quiet, he remained motionless and stared at them. They seemed to be perfectly human, only a little huge and hairier. Their eyes speak of various emotions, fear, happiness, sadness, perhaps even love as well. Yet, they saw him as an unidentified species and felt threatened. Even in the modern world despite all the technological advancements and ability to converse in a common language, humans still feel threatened by one another, for different beliefs and outlooks of life. The primitive kid was hugging his mother out of fear. Another young hairy man was eager to pierce him with his spear. Another man, perhaps older, kept screaming in his ancient language. Yet another man, was quiet and kept his spear away, as though trying to understand what or who is this kid surrounded by a blue aura. Diverse personalities in a small tribe. Robin waited patiently in the shield dome.

'Are they gone yet?' Kael's voice growled through the Commune, much to the shock of the tribesmen.

'No.'

'Did you do what I told you to do?'

'Not yet.'

'Kid, I told you to-'

'Hold on!' Robin interrupted. Suddenly, the quiet primitive man pointed towards something at a distance, and the older man began to scream again and gestured for everyone to run away. All of them quickly disappeared. One of them stopped to pick up the stone and carried it along. The quiet man took one last glance at Robin, before disappearing with the rest.

Robin switched off his shield dome and picked up his Commune. 'They are gone. I don't know what they saw, but they all ran away.'

'Well, you better keep your gun out, then.' Kael scoffed.

The sun was blazing hot as Robin continued his journey. There was no sign of any creature that could possibly scare away those tribesmen. He followed the river while frequently checking his compass. The scorching hot sun made him feel tired quickly and his sweaty legs felt heavy and numb. Robin was about to sit and rest when his Commune beeped.

'Any signs of whatever thing that scared those cannibals?' Kael asked.

'Nothing, I walked quite far. I don't see anything unusual. Gonna take some rest.'

'How many rests you wanna take, kid? Grab a pill and keep going! Those pills should keep you energetic, according to Luxe. Perhaps it's only your mind that is playing tricks on you, and telling you that it's enough.'

'How powerful is the mind, really?' Robin's serious tone made Kael silent for a moment. There was no reply for a couple of seconds.

'W…what? What do you mean kid?'

'This mind is capable of making people strong or weak, sometimes giving them fear, leading them to believe in various things, like praying towards something that they don't even know. What powers does the mind really behold?' Robin questioned.

'The heck kind of question is that?' Kael retorted. 'Kid, stop thinking too much, and just keep going. Or take rest and whatever. Stop this nonsense.'

'Why are you getting agitated, general?'

'W…what? Whose getting agitated? I am just saying. You are wasting precious time. Just focus on your mission, alright? Your dad needs you.'

'Okay.'

Robin looked up. There was a hill up ahead. The only way he can be sure that he is on the right track, is to find clues, and the best way to find clues is to look for them from above.

'I am gonna climb up a peak to have a good look around.' Robin stated.

'Hmm good idea, kid. Update me if there's anything.'

Robin began to suspect Kael. He didn't understand why would Kael be agitated when he was talking about mind. Or was it just annoyance that Kael had on Robin on his persisting questions?

As Robin was walking in between the thick bushes, his right foot stepped on something concrete, with a metal-like 'clank' sound. Robin picked up the square-shaped object. It was covered in mud. As Robin brushed off the mud, it became apparent that the object was thin and light like a tablet. There was a knob in the middle of the tablet. Robin twisted it. The tablet made a buzzing sound, and produced a floating image. To Robin's shock, it was a hologram.

'General, I found a holographic tablet! It must have belonged to one of our scientists!' Robin exclaimed.

'Holographic tablet?' Kael was confused.

'Err yea, it doesn't sound familiar to you?'

'Err no. Not really. What does it show?' Kael's voice spoke of genuine curiosity.

The image showed a weird animal which Robin didn't understand. He tried to find a way to change the image. There weren't any other knobs on the tablet. Robin experimented using his hand gestures, and the image quickly flipped to another symbol. Robin stood in horror. It was the same symbol he saw in the cave earlier. A triangle inside a circle, inside another square.

'The symbol! It's the same symbol I saw in the cave earlier!'

'Kid, I really don't know what you are talking about.'

'That symbol I saw in the cave!' Robin emphasized. 'A weird symbol or language inside a triangle inside a circle which is inside a square!'

'Kid, I trust you. But I couldn't understand this. Alex has nothing to do with this, as far as I could remember. Perhaps, the pills that Luxe gave has some side effects.'

'So you are saying I am hallucinating? Thanks to the pills Hyrax gave me? Seriously?'

'Okay kid, calm down. Just tell me what you are seeing, alright?' There was no response from Robin.

Kid? Hello? You there?' Kael called. 'HELLO! Kid, say something!'

'Wait a minute.' Robin replied. 'There are detailed sketches and explanations in an undeciphered language. Sketches of machines and instruments which I had never seen before. And…'

'And? And what?'

Robin was stunned. The hologram showed a sketch of a machine that was shaped almost dome-like, with many controls and switch panels. It was very much similar to their time capsule.

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