Chapter Thirty-Two: Horror of Normalcy

The ship came out of space, and Washu looked out from the viewport. Gazing down at the small, blue planet below, she marveled at it. Opening scanners, she took a moment to admire it. Over sixty percent of the planet's surface was pure water.

That was a lot higher than most.

"So that's Earth, huh? Way nicer than I was expecting," said Washu. Though it was a sort of miracle that life had developed here at all without gods. "Hmm, the entire planet is covered in an untamed wilderness. Wow, this is so amazing. I can't wait to take some samples.'

"Just remember, we're supposed to avoid direct contact if possible," said Mikamo, scanning. "And if we do have to talk to someone, we have to take on the role of something there."

"Yes, yes, I know Mikamo," said Washu. Then she noticed as Mikamo raised heavy weaponry. "Um, is the plasma cannon really necessary?"

"Yes," said Mikamo, testing the spin.

Washu nodded, scanning before she noticed something. Frowning, she double-checked her data. "That's odd."

"What is?" asked Mikamo.

"Well I'm looking at the Earth, It turns out that there are vast areas of forest that have been destroyed," said Washu. "Miles and miles of forests on record have just up and disappeared since the last report. I've never seen anything like it.

"Are you sure no Earthlings have psychic powers."

"Positive," said Mikamo. "They cut down huge swaths of the trees on their world. Nobody knows why.

"My guess is out of spite."

"Well, I think we'd better find out," said Washu. Then she drew out her new devices and tossed one to Mikamo, who caught it. "Take this; we're going incognito."

"What are these?" asked Mikamo.

"These devices transmit a subconscious wavelength. It makes people view the one wearing it as ordinary," said Washu. "I used to use them when I wanted to be left alone to read back home."

"We're not supposed to interfere," said Mikamo flatly.

"We're not going to interfere," said Washu. "Just... ask a few questions. This thing will translate our speech and mannerism to reflect the time. We'll appear a bit eccentric, at worst."

Mikamo paused. "...Fine, have it your way.

"But I'm staying up here."

"What?" said Washu. "Why?"

"So that I can pull you out if you get into a bad situation," said Mikamo.

"Oh come on, don't you want to see Earth?" asked Washu.

"Not really," admitted Mikamo.

"Why did you even bring a chaingun if you weren't going to go down there?" asked Washu.

"Pirates sometimes set up operations here," said Mikamo. "There are sensors in place to warn if anyone lands on earth. But almost nobody ever comes here.

"So, sometimes, they have meetings in orbit around this world to trade narcotics."

"Mikamo, do you really think there is anything down there that can threaten me?" asked Washu. "And if there is, couldn't we just contact the ship remotely while blasting it with a chain gun?"

Mikamo remained silent for a long moment, before finally snapping. "...Fine, I'll come along. Let's just get this over with."

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" asked Washu.

"This war with the Tal'Darim is stupid," said Mikamo finally. "We made our point taking Bel'Shir, but the Tal'Darim refuse to get it. Things have been heating up out there. It's gotten to the point where someone gets killed in every battle.

"People are starting to... take things personally. A few Juraian Nobles have even sworn revenge on people who killed their friends."

"What?" said Washu. "Are you... are you serious? We've actually got people sacrificing their well-being to get back at someone?"

"Yeah," said Mikamo. "We've had a few blood feuds over the years over murders. But it was nothing that a formal duel couldn't settle. But now we have people swearing vengeance because a soldier on the other side killed a soldier.

"This conflict is corrupting us.

"Now we're heading down to Earth, the absolute center of all that stuff. It's not something I want to see more of."

Washu decided to come clean with this. "Listen, Mikamo, I didn't just want to come down here because I was interested. I also did it because Earth is a model for the worst-case scenario. If we can find out what causes them to be so bloodthirsty, maybe we can isolate the same elements in ourselves.

"That's why this is important.

"Acknowledging a problem is the first step to solving it. If you pretend it isn't happening, you just let it grow."

Mikamo sighed. "Right, right.

"Let's go."

They activated the devices.

"Now, I figure we ought to start with the deforestation," said Washu.

"Why there?" asked Mikamo.

"Well, nothing like that has happened on any of the worlds we've had contact with," said Washu. "Sometimes trees have to be transplanted or even cut down in an emergency. But this kind of mass destruction only happens with natural disasters. And weather control prevents those."

"Well, it's better than starting with the battles, I guess," said Mikamo.

And down they went.

Washu picked a region near the sea, a place with many trees. Walking across it, she saw a place where a forest had been leveled. There were stumps, thousands upon thousands of stumps, all having been cut down near the base. It was breathtaking and horrific, like watching spaceships collide.

You knew you shouldn't be watching something so horrible, but you couldn't look away.

Washu shook her head. This was about science. Kneeling down by the tree, she performed some scans. "Hmm, from the looks of things, these have been cut down, all near the trunk. The cut is rough like they used a dull blade repeatedly." Several more scans provided her with information. "...That isn't..."

"What is it?" asked Mikamo.

"The plants here lack the regenerative capabilities of other worlds," said Washu. "According to my scans, most of the plants and animals in this entire region are dying or in terrible health. There are hundreds of people dying in the surrounding through population centers. Villages, I think.

"And of those who aren't dying, most are in bad health. They have sicknesses we could cure in a heartbeat."

"This is all well-documented," said Mikamo.

"Yes, yes, I know," said Washu. "But the data I read... well..." She widened her scanned. "If these scans are representative of Earth as a whole, our estimates are far, far worse. There isn't a single human for miles over the age of sixty.

"Most are under thirty.

"Could the average life expectancy really be that low?"

"Maybe we should focus," said Mikamo.

"Right, right," said Washu, looking over the stumps. "Why would they need to cut down so many of these, though? Theoretically, wood could be used as a building material, but these were all cut recently."

"No idea," admitted Mikamo. "They are Earthlings."

"That is not a scientific explanation, Mikamo," said Washu. "Saying that a given group has a bad habit because they are who they are doesn't help.

"Nobody does anything without reason." Making her way through the fields, Washu eventually came to a tree that was still standing. It was ancient, perhaps a hundred years old. And yet there was no innate energy coming from it.

Somehow that seemed wrong.

She was just about to begin taking scans when she heard a voice. "You there, you'd best step away."

Turning around, Washu looked and saw humans. Except... it was like they weren't there. As if she was only looking at an empty shell. The life energy that radiated from all living things was nonexistent from them. Many of them had physical issues, parasites, bones that hadn't healed right. Scar tissue untreated.

Washu caught her breath. "Why? I'm looking at this tree."

"Yes, well, we've got to cut it down." said the man.

"Why?" asked Washu, looking back. "This tree is hundreds of years old."

"The Great King orders, of course." said the leader. "Haven't you heard?"

Washu focused her eyes and was able to pick out the one speaking. It was as if the people before her didn't even exist. It was hard to differentiate between them without life force. The leader or she thought he was the lead, had black hair and a short beard. His skin was tan, and he and his men held long tools with metalheads.

Those were probably what had been used to hack things down.

"We've been... out of touch," said Washu, shuddering. This place, it was... wrong. All of it was wrong.

"Well, you can step away from there, and I'll explain it." said the leader. "My men have work to do and little time to do it."

Washu nodded and stepped aside, realizing too late that she was letting them destroy the tree. Something that could not be replicated for centuries. No interfering, she reminded herself, and she tried to put on a bold appearance. She barely managed to smile. "So, is there a reason you're hacking down all these trees?"

"We're building a fleet, obviously." said the man. "The Great King is working to fulfill the vendetta that his father, Darius, set down for him."

What? Everything... everything about that sentence was warped. "You... wait, you people inherit revenge schemes?" asked Washu.

"Is the Temple of Athena still standing?" asked the man flatly.

"We're... not from around here?" said Mikamo.

"I can tell." said the leader. "Look, I'll make this as simple as possible. Some years ago, the previous Great King, Darius, was ruling justly over Persia. Some of his subjects, however, were rebellious. The Ionian Greek City States had always been left to govern themselves, so long as they gave tribute.

"Then they started a rebellion.

"They killed numerous Persian citizens and raised their banners against us."

"Why?" asked Washu.

"Because they were traitors obviously." said the man. "These damn Greeks never surrender.

"Anyway, they went and called for help from the city-state of Athens and asked them to aid them against us. Athens is a regional power in Greece."

"So, Greece is a country?" asked Washu.

The man gave her a look. "No, it's a region. The Greeks all fight eachother nearly as much as they do everyone else. Make friends with one, and you instantly make enemies of their enemies. And they're constantly switching sides based on vague notions of ideology.

"The Ionian Greeks benefited from a long period of peace under our rule. Then someone incited a revolution. They're worse than those damn Egyptians, I swear."

"Go on," said Washu, wincing as she heard metal on wood.

"Well, anyway, Athens and some other city-states agree and send armies to help them." said the man. "King Darius then has to fight them as well. And during the fighting, the Athenians burned our regional capital of Sardis.

"Of course, it was only a temporary setback; the revolt was crushed. But Great King Darius swore revenge. He had a servant remind him every day 'Sire, remember the Athenians.'

"We launched an attack on them at Marathon during Darius reign; however, it was foiled.

"Now, Great King Xerxes is preparing for the same reason. That's why we're building a fleet of ships."

"How are you going to get dead wood to fly?" asked Washu. She knew she ought to be able to formulate a theory based on what she knew, but... she wasn't feeling up to it.

The man gave her a look, then glanced at Mikamo. "...Is this woman addled?"

"Somewhat. She was in the sun too long," said Mikamo. "Humor her, please."

"They don't fly." said the man. "They float, see we cut the trees into boards which are then prepared and nailed together, so they keep out water."

"So you use the buoyant properties of wood to traverse the seas," said Washu. "But how do you propel them?" Ask questions, even if you don't want to hear the answers.

"Oars, or sails." said the man. "See, you cut the wood into a sort of paddle, and then you push it through the water. If you have enough people doing that at once, you can move quickly. As for sails, you tie them up... somehow to catch the wind, and that pushes you onward."

Washu thought of the prospect. These people...

They were using corpses to move around. Their idea of fast transportation was to hack up the bodies of trees and fit them together into ships. To think that in Jurai, controversy had been raised over trying to speed up tree growth.

But the trees here were dead.

Everything was dead. Washu was on a world of living corpses. "D-details, please."

"I don't know, I'm not a shipbuilder." said the man. "My job is overseeing the cutting of trees for use in the construction of all kinds. I've been doing it for half my life, fifteen years, and when I'm dead in another fifteen, my son will take things over."

So he was fifty, and he expected to die in fifteen years or less. What...

What kind of warped and psychotic god would allow a world like this to exist? How could they bear living here? Or were they even alive? Psychic powers were a mainstay of all living things other than those on earth. Was it possible that these people were just automatons operating on pre-programmed instincts?

A tree fell and smashed to the ground. Washu looked up and saw a man had nearly been crushed while pulling it down with ropes. No, no, they had created organized systems to ensure their safety. That kind of inventiveness requires sentience.

Earthlings were not corpses or automatons. They were just insane.

And who could blame them? Who would not go insane from living in a world where life was hardly above a corpse.

"Sir, we're done here." said a man.

"Excellent work, you men.' said the leader. "Let's do the preparations and set it up with the rest.

"And someone get a fire going, it'll be dark and cold soon."

"What are you using the fires for?" asked Mikamo, picking up the slack.

Washu wasn't up to ask another question.

"Warmth, obviously." said the man.

They... they burned corpses to stay alive? Of course, they did, without psychic power, they could not create warmth themselves. So they killed other living creatures and piled them up and set them on fire! Now the man was looking at Washu with concern.

The stench of burning wood came to Washu's nose, and she screamed. The wail came out of her mouth as she fell to her knees, shuddering in horror. Mikamo kneeled by her.

"Are you certain she should be out here?" asked the man. "There are physicians, you know."

"I think I'd best take her to one," said Mikamo.

"That'll be for the best." said the man.

Washu was led away from that field of stumps and into a place of trees. Or what looked like trees. They appeared like the most twisted and unhealthy of all the plants on normal worlds, but they had no soul. Unaware of those who walked beneath their boughs, unable to feel agony.

Or Washu hoped that was the case.

"Are you alright?" asked Mikamo.

"No, I am not alright," said Washu, standing up.

"I'll call the ship," said Mikamo. "We can head to a normal-"

"No," said Washu. "No, we go on. This is... this is a lot worse than I expected. But that just makes it more important that we understand it.

"If we don't learn about these things...

"Imagine if Jurai ended up like this place? Or Kuramitsu?"

Mikamo nodded. "Well, I wasn't planning on sleeping much lately anyway."

"We go to Greece," said Washu.

Mikamo called them back to the ship, and they teleported away.