Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 40

Breakfast was served and I was invited by Jobu to eat with the Chief and the village elders. This was one of the things that Jobu discussed with me after he dissuaded me from attempting to perform manual labor. He let me know that the station of a Priestess is slightly above that of the village Chief, which is something that I was surprised to hear. He went on to tell me that it had been over a thousand years since any village, shrine or temple had a Priestess and that the healing and spiritual duties had fallen to the monks. It was the last Priestess that had trained the first monk who in turn trained the many monks that followed. I promised Jobu that I would do my best to uphold the honor and tradition of my station.

Jobu knew that I was young and inexperienced just by looking at me. I was now over twenty years old if my math was correct, but the body that Osaka Eugenics gave me through superior genetics still looked like it had just turned sixteen, or perhaps seventeen given the modifications that were made to me in the slime tank on Galora.

We continued our chat over breakfast and I learned a lot from Jobu, but I learned ever more about the village and the neighboring villages from listening to the Chief and the village elders prattle on. They talked at length about a pilgrimage to a village far to the north to celebrate the fifty-year anniversary of the King's coronation. Many in the village wanted to attend but the Chief and the elders decided that not everyone that wanted to go should go as it would leave too few behind to tend to the needs of the village.

When breakfast was concluded Jobu and I made our way to the shrine. At the bottom of the stairs leading to the front of the shrine, two of the village men offered to assist Jobu up the steps and he was glad to accept their offer being that his health was poor and his knees were barely able to carry his weight without the aid of a walking stick. When we got to the plateau of the shrine Jobu thanked the two young men and dismissed them with a short blessing. I assisted him to the base of the altar where he carefully slipped to his knees and began his morning prayers. Not knowing his prayers or his ritual I just assumed the Lotus position next to him and used my internal communications system to establish a link with Maintenance Control back at the main facility to see how the disassembly of the old hulks was progressing. I also checked on the rest of the stations functions before I began researching the shrine at my current location.

As I looked at the layout of the station I tried to pull up a diagram of the facility located below the Pa'u shrine but there was no information available. The database of the remote locations such as this one had become corrupt and while there were a few references to similar locations, there was nothing much listed on this one. Next I found a full map that detailed main facility and the surrounding area, then created a topographical overly from another set of maps that I had found. Once that was done I followed the river from the main complex to the area where to Pa'u village was located. I was surprised that the village was listed on the map but the layout and size was much different on the map than it was in reality. Looking at the date of the map it appeared that about fifty six thousand years had passed since this map was accurate.

I studied the diagram that I had created then dispatched a mixed squad of flying reconnaissance drones and maintenance bots to the many levels of the main facility that faced my current location on the compass. While the bots were carrying out their exploration I turned my attention back to the map and began looking for the location of the other shrines, temples and villages. I wanted to know more about the layout of the other facilities that the Annunaki had built here, and what they were used for. From what I could see the areas that could hold a village were laid out in a large circle that would cover a thousand miles or so in distance. I estimated that the entire circle was a large wheel with many spokes leading back to the center. In the center was the Central Command facility. To the north of that there appeared to be a facility just as large or perhaps larger but I could not tell what it was or what it was used for from the badly damaged map. Eventually I would have to check that out in person, but for now my main concern was for the Central Command facility and this shrine.

It had been several hours since Jobu had started his prayers and once he had finished he jostled me back into the real world. He was feeling a bit fatigued and was going to return to his hut for a little nap. There were a few villagers milling about the shrine. Some were praying, some were cleaning and it was not hard for Jobu to find several young men to assist him down the stairs. Once he was gone I started exploring the shrine in detail. I had been here many times before in panther form but did not have time for a detailed hands on inspection.

I started by connecting to the Central Core and pulling up diagrams of the small temples and shrines that were constructed on this planet. I could not find a listing of structures by location so I did a search by size and general lay out. I was able to find three shrines similar to this then compared them to this shrine's configuration. It seems that the layout of this shrine had been changed since the Annunaki database had been updated so I was on my own to make a guess. My goal was to locate the schematics for the medical system attached to the obelisk behind the altar and determine why it was no longer functioning.

The first diagram I chose was completely wrong and the electronics were not located in the wall that was pictured in the diagram. My second choice proved to be the right choice with the exception of the stone benches and statues that had been erected in front of the access panel in the wall behind the alter. Those would have to be moved for me to gain access. I made a note to discuss this with Jobu later on in the day.

Next I made my way to the hatch that led to the steps behind the alter. I placed my hand on the DNA reader and was greeted with, "Good morning Princess Maew" as my DNA was read and verified. The hatch slid open and before making my way down the steps I took a quick look around and seeing that no one was looking I changed into my comfy hiking boots, and a pair of sturdy cargo pants and a long sleeve t-shirt to protect against spider bites. Once at the bottom of the stairs I closed the hatch behind me. As I made my way below I felt a tingle on the back of my neck that indicated that I no longer had wireless access to Central Command. There was still enough light from the dim emergency lighting system installed throughout the hallways.

There were a few consoles in the underground complex in several of the small rooms. I found a small replication alcove and several bunkrooms. I found no signs of life, nor did I find any expired life forms during my exploration. I looked around for signs or symbols that would give me an indication as to what this facility was used for but could find nothing. My guess was that it was not a facility that was permanently staffed; as there were no personal effects left behind like there was in the main facility after the Annunaki had abandoned it in great haste.

I spent a few more hours trying to understand what the facility was, and how it was used. I had found a heavy blast door that appeared to lead out of the facility but I could not get it open as there was either not enough power to open them or something on the other side was preventing them from opening. I made a note of the door's location and would look into this another time. By my calculations it was getting close to the dinner hour and I was sure that Jobu and the village elders would be wanting to know what had happened to their new Priestess. I had prepared myself for the questions about how I had come to the village when I did and so on but so far those questions never came.

I took the stairs back up to the shrine, changed back into my white Priestess sari... well that is what I was calling it though it was not prescribed Priestess attire. I was the only young woman that had her chest covered and so far no one had questioned my choice of attire, or my need for modesty. I imagine that being a Priestess affords one to be a bit more modest than the village custom prescribes.

Once at the top of the stairs I closed and sealed the hatch then felt the familiar sting of the ancient wireless connection being established with my internal system. There were several messages for me from Central Maintenance and Central Command that stated that the recon drones and maintenance bots had found a subway platform that ran between the Central Command facility and the shrine that I was currently visiting. This subway was not listed in the master record and the recon drones had come to a point in the tunnel where it had collapsed and they could not proceed past where the cave in had occurred. There was an indication that the power feed between the central reactor and the facility under the shrine was damaged. This told me the reason why the facility under the shrine was running on emergency power.

I contacted Maintenance Control and issued orders for the maintenance bots to begin clearing the debris, repairing the tunnel and reestablishing power to the facility below the shrine. I also left instructions that the bots should work in stealth and that under no circumstances should the residents of this village or any of the neighboring villages observe them. My order was received and the bots were immediately dispatched.

I met up with Jobu at his hut before dinner and walked with him to his table. Along the way I enquired about the obelisk not functioning when he tried to heal Diya. He told me the entire story that took up most of our dinnertime. As we ate he continued on about how the Great Maker had forsaken the village long ago and would no longer send their healing light. Many generations, he said it had been since a villager was healed at the altar. All of the monks that preceded him had the same problem, yet the healing tradition was passed on from monk to monk even though it was all in vain, and each time a villager needed healing, Jobu would still go through the ritual as if he expected one day for the Great Maker to once again send the blue healing light.

The Chief and his wife sat across from Jobu and I during dinner and listened in to the monk's tale though they both knew the story by heart. When dinner concluded and Jobu's tale was finished I spoke up and asked if I might be permitted to relocate a few statues and perhaps a bench or two in the hope that these changes would bring the healing light back to the shrine. This prompted a short discussion between Jobu, the Chief and several of the village elders and the consensus was that perhaps my arrival was a gift from the Great Maker and that I should be permitted to do what I thought was necessary. The Chief then volunteered to assign six rather large men to the shrine for as long as I needed them, and that they would report to Jobu in the morning after breakfast. Jobu and I thanked the Chief before he and his wife left the table.

Jobu was asked by several of the village elders to join them at the river and he agreed to go with them. I had a feeling that I would be the topic of discussion during their evening bath. I decided to go by myself, but along the way to the river Diya caught up with me and we made the journey together. Nothing much happened other than the usual bathing and chatting. We enjoyed a swim together making two trips to the opposite side of the river and back and after that we were ready for a good nights sleep. I walked Diya back to her hut then made my way back to mine. Once I parted company with Diya my attention turned to the shrine and what would be needed to fix the healing beam.

I contacted Maintenance Control and found that the bots had made progress on clearing the subway tunnel of debris but that there was still a lot more debris to remove. The maintenance bots had located the area where the power had been cut but they were still eight hours or so from reaching it to begin repairs. With that in mind I removed my clothing and turned in for the night. While I waited for sleep to come I went over the specs for the healing beam, doing my best to familiarize myself with the device before I had to dig into the actual circuitry in the morning. I was not anywhere near being a trained technician on this equipment but at the academy I had plenty of training in repairing many types of systems just in case a problem arose while in transit. In space there is rarely a tow barge or mechanic available when you ship conks out.

When morning came I decided to skip breakfast and go over the schematics one more time in detail as I made my way to the shrine. The plans of the shrine detailed the electronics installed in and below the structure and laid out which tools would be needed to remove the cover plate which appeared to be the facing stone that covered the back wall facing away from the alter. I believed that I observed what appeared to be a tool kit in the facility below the shrine and I wanted to get there before Jobu and the men from the village arrived to assist with the moving of the statues and such.

I easily made it to the shrine and entered the facility below. I located the tool kit right where I thought I had seen it but was disappointed to find that while it had a full compliment of manual and modern diagnostic tools, the more advanced ones were in need of a good long charge. Just like the medical devices I had to splice the charging system into the emergency lighting system and hope that they charge up enough to be of use.

When I emerged from the stairs and closed the hatch the work crew and Jobu had just arrived. I elected to leave the toolbox below to charge while we began moving the statues. They were tall, heavy and well secured to the floor by weight and some sort of hardened resin. I discussed which statues and benches that needed to be moved with Jobu and pointed out the area that I needed clear access to. I left it up to him where the new resting place for the statues and such would be. In the interest of uniformity he decided that a few items on the other side of the altar would need to be moved as well then putting charcoal to paper he sketched out a diagram of what he wanted moved and where it would be moved to. By my calculations that would take most of the day, which would give my tools and scanners a bit more time to charge.

I have to say that it was an enjoyable day watching these big beefy men moving such heavy objects with very little clothing on to hide the beautifully muscled bodies. Several times I had to snap myself out of some very impure fantasies involving one or more of these brawny men with caramel colored skin and long flowing black hair. If Jobu could have read my mind I am sure that somehow I would have been in for a real wicked spanking... of course I would hope that one or all of the men involved in our little project would have been chosen to administer such a punishment to this wanton Priestess.

The men worked hard through the day and I was proud of what they had accomplished in such a short time given how well the statues were glued to the floor and how much trouble it was to leaver them free from with heavy iron bars. There was still on statue and two meditation benches that had to be moved before we could attempt to remove the facing stone from the back wall of the alter, but the prayer and dinner hours were fast approaching and upon noticing the time Jobu called a halt to the work for the day and dismissed the men with our thanks. I made an attempt to follow them down the back steps in an effort to see if any or all of them needed help washing up for dinner but the frail Jobu took me by the arm and bid me to walk with him.

Jobu was concerned at the amount of work that we had done today and were nowhere near being able to address the issue of the Great Maker's healing light. I tried to reassure him but he was a bit skeptical, as he did not understand any of technology involved. All he knew is that for certain things he would press a few stones on the wall and the obelisk behind the altar was supposed to do the rest. I did my best to explain it but in reality it was like trying to explain the workings of a modern super computer to a Neanderthal. I am not insisting that Jobu was not intelligent, it is just that he lacked an understanding of what needed to be done and how I was going to do it.

He seemed a bit put off by me that I could not make him understand so I decided that I would keep my distance from him for the evening out of frustration. When the prayers started I stayed back at the shrine and let Jobu join the villagers in prayer. I decided to take another look at the schematics once again to make sure that I understood the systems well enough before I started poking about in their electronics. I took up the Lotus position at the base of the alter. Before pulling up the specs and technical data I used my built in wireless connection to check with Maintenance Control to see how the tunnel repairs were going.

From the logs that I read through they had cleared about 75% of the debris and had the tunnel shored up where the debris had been removed. The digging continued around the clock as the bots did not require rest. I did a quick read through the logs looking for the electrical repairs that I had requested and found that the main power feed through the tunnel to this facility had been repaired in sixteen different places over the past eighteen hours and more damage had been found. The rubble was still being removed that prevented the repair bots from reaching the severed power coupling.

I kept pouring over the technical data and traced out most of the critical circuits in my mind and committed most of them to memory before I heard the chanting of the daily prayers come to an end. It was now dinnertime and I was a bit hungry so I made my way down the stairs to the tables below. I met up with Jobu and as always we ate dinner together but I did my best to avoid conversation with those at my table. My mind was focused on the shrine and bringing its systems back online as failure on my part at this point would not look good for the new Priestess. When dinner was over I declined several invitations to bathe at the river. I excused myself and elected to return to the shrine instead.

The sun had begun to set as I made my way up the many steps to the shrine. I was a bit burned out on looking through schematics and about half way up the steps I decided instead to work on manually translating the scanned version of Enoch's journal that I had retrieved electronically from the library bot. Once I cleared the stairs I sat myself on the floor at the base of the raised altar and pulled my legs under me and assumed the Lotus position once again in preparation for my meditation. Ok, I wanted it to look like I was meditating instead of going through Enoch's journal word by word, slowly translating his hand written scrawl into a version of the Annu language that I could understand.

The villagers assigned to lighting the lamps and caldrons of oil around the shrine had arrived and began to perform the evening ritual. The workers knelt before the altar and offered prayers then set off around the shrine creating light against the coming darkness. I was left undisturbed as usual as they quietly padded about the shrine. Mentally I opened the scanned journal stored in my internal PDA to my last bookmark and began translating the words one at a time. From time to time I would come along a string of words that I understood from previous translations and this sped up the process a bit. The more words I inspected, the more familiar I became with the style of Enoch's longhand script but surprisingly, I was beginning to understand the thoughts of Enoch as he penned his final gift to the galaxy.