4. Arlo
Life in Jangala City was much more exciting than Arlo had ever believed. Perhaps that was because the place was anything but a city. Arlo knew cities from back home. He had even lived in one. There was practically nothing to do there. Here it was the same, but nothing and no one could stop you - that was a big difference. At home, the robutler would have immediately thwarted Arlo's sneaking away. Here, there were no robutlers. The energy consumption was much too high for the time being, Dad had said. It was all right with Arlo.
All that was needed was to open the door of the living container while Mum and Dad were at the meeting, and that was it. Of course, Dad had forbidden it, but he wouldn't know about it. He, Arlo, would be back long before Mum and Dad got home. Like last week. There he had discovered a hole in the fence of the camp (for now Jangala City was little more than that). Back home in Greater Boston it would have been fixed immediately, but here no one would have the time. Orgial, wasn't it?
In the evening, sometimes the Illuminati could be seen moving across the sky from afar. Arlo wanted to see them up close. He opened the container door and after only a few steps had disappeared into the twilight. When he reached the fence with the hole, it was already dark. Jangalita, the poison moon, swam green and crescent over the horizon. It gave at least enough light to vaguely orient oneself.
The clearing vehicles had broken temporary and unpaved aisles in the vegetation around the camp, which could easily be followed to reach the edge of the jungle. There in the jungle, adults said, when they felt unobserved, there would be a clearing over which the Illuminati would gather at night.
That had to look grandastic! The Illuminati shone quite brightly at night, and Arlo was sure they could be seen from a distance through the treetops. He knew roughly the direction.
He slipped through the fence, and barely fifteen minutes later he reached the forest. For safety's sake, he memorized Jangalita's position.
From now on, progress became more difficult. Matted undergrowth in large quantities grew everywhere, often forcing Arlo to take long detours, and it was also very dark in the jungle. Jangalita was only rarely to be guessed, and the few scattered lights were enough at most to recognize a tree trunk, if one stood very close before it. There was no sign of Illuminati either.
Arlo began to feel uneasy. Maybe it was better he turned back and tried to grab a spotlight to try again next week. He glanced at his wristwatch.
SA 11/18/2209 T-STD.
3-DAY, 16 WK, 20:11 LOC.
The uneasiness turned to a hot lump of panic as he realized he had forgotten to activate the steptracker on his watch. How was he going to find his way back now? Well, first and foremost, slowly and quietly. Turn around. There was the last thicket, so now around to the right. And then straight ahead for a bit, right? Had he passed this tree? Back there, that could only be Jangalita. But the moon was in the wrong position. So turn a little. Then half-left on ...
Half an hour later, Arlo admitted to himself that he was completely lost. The sheer size and loneliness of the jungle weighed him down, and he huddled on a large rock. How had he been so stupid?
Light penetrated from somewhere far above, and something large broke through a gap in the canopy. An Illuminate? No, they glowed in a completely different way. He wanted to run, but where to? And what if he broke all his bones because he could barely see? Maybe better to play dead and wait? The big thing seemed to turn out to be a ... basket? But another big thing followed after it, a dark gray sphere, barely more than a lighter black in the darkness of the night.
"Don't worry," came a voice from above, "just sit there, I'll get you out." The voice sounded kind of rough. And rusty? But no matter. Relief made his knees go weak. Good thing he was sitting anyway. Such a piece of luck! How could this have happened? Had Mum and Dad come home early and sent someone to get him? But how had that one found him? And what was that strange thing?
The strange thing sank lower. It was indeed a basket, and a man inside was shining a hand lamp. When the lamp was not blinding Arlo, one could guess that the basket was attached by ropes to the sphere above. From the shape and size, it could indeed be an Illuminate, but it didn't glow a bit.
And then it was down. The basket came to rest. The man lit up the forest floor so Arlo could see enough and called out, "Come on, we're going to fly a bit."
The voice still sounded kind of rusty, but not unfriendly. Arlo figured he had little choice anyway and ran for the basket. Well, maybe he didn't run, but he did walk pretty fast. As fast as visibility allowed. Two strong men's arms grabbed him and lifted him into the basket. The man tugged on a line, and the basket floated upward.
Above the canopy of leaves, they floated back to camp. Against the light wind. It had to be an Illuminate after all. Arlo asked about it. The man confirmed it with a nod of his head.
"But it doesn't glow!" objected Arlo. "They don't always glow," the man returned. "Most of the time they don't. And it's better that way right now."
"How did you find me, anyway?" Arlo asked the question that actually interested him the most. "I mean ..." He left the sentence unfinished.
The man shrugged vaguely. "I have my ways," he said. "It really is all the same - I've found you, and that's all that matters."
"It's really good that you've saved me already," Arlo commented, glancing at his wristwatch. "At this rate, I'll easily be home before Mom and Dad get back from the meeting." He scratched behind his ear. "But in case I don't make it: I've never seen you before," he babbled on. "So where are you staying? Mum and Dad will want to thank you then."
"You remind me of someone I used to know," the man smirked. "She wanted to talk all the time, too."
Then he got serious and leaned down to Arlo. "Now pay attention, my boy, this is important: I live out there," he made a vague gesture with his arm, toward where the jungle became endless, "with my friends." Now he pointed upward, toward the Illuminate who carried them.
"At your camp, they know nothing of me, and I would like to keep it that way. You say that your people have no idea yet that you are gone?"
Arlo nodded. "I think they don't," he said.
The man nodded, apparently satisfied. "And if I lower you down there by that big rock, you'll find your way home before anyone notices?"
"Yeah, that's no problem. The hole in the fence is close by."
"Fine. And you can keep a secret?"
Arlo nodded eagerly. "Well, sure. I haven't told anyone that Lofred secretly grows snails, either."
The man smiled. It was visible even despite his sprawling beard. "Well, in that case, I'm the secret. If anyone catches you, you've just escaped. And because it was getting dark, it took you a little longer to find your way back. Can you handle that?"
"Sure!" grinned Arlo.
He wondered briefly what "escaped" might mean, but actually he could guess.
The man got serious again, "Say, you must be hearing this and that. What do your people say about the Illuminati?"
Arlo shrugged his shoulders uncertainly. "Don't know. They think they're totally grandastic."
"Does anyone think they should be hunted?"
Arlo's eyes snapped open. "No! They're not hurting anyone!"
The man nodded and lifted Arlo out of the basket that had just touched down. "I hope it stays that way," he muttered. Arlo gave a quick wave and was about to turn around, then he remembered something else: "What's your name, anyway? I'm Arlo."
"Oh, where are my manners?" the man grumbled, slapping himself in the face. "You can call me Alex. Nice meeting you, Arlo."
"Likewise!" shouted Arlo, and off he ran.
Arlo was in bed, but he was still too excited to fall asleep right away. What an orgial adventure! Mom and Dad were just coming back. He could hear them through the thin sliding door. "That brat is going to be pure tomboy." That was the tired sounding voice of Mum. She always called him "brat," but she meant no harm. "Look at that: All his clothes are filthy. Would like to know where he always hangs out."
"I'd rather not," Dad said dryly. "Besides, there's going to be an extreme amount of wilderness here for centuries to come. There's probably nothing wrong with a little wildness among the people."
"You're terrible! We really need a robutler again."
"As soon as we can, sweetie," Dad agreed. "We'll be moving into the house in a couple of weeks, and if Django can get on schedule, the temporary power plant will be up soon, too."
Well, thought Arlo, then I don't have much time left for the Illuminati clearing....