After nearly a month in bed because of high tropical fever and Earth’s gravity effects, Irma Ladner was finally on her way to the upper portions of the Green river to visit the Elysian medicine woman who had promised to discuss her shamanic craft. A local scholar by name of Eco, a hybrid human himself, was her guide and had arranged for the drone boat to make the journey upriver.
The boat glided along the water in a corridor of lush vegetation and cathedrals of palms, ceibas, oaks, and figs- incomprehensibly intricate and rich ecosystems, specially when compared to those of the outer space colonies, where terra-formed niches had begun to show promise but were not nearly as biologically diverse as those ecosystems on Earth. Mind you, as the womb planet, Earth had a head start, and a little boost from genetic engineering, to put it mildly.
“She will be waiting for us inside and perform welcoming ablutions,” Eco said to Irma.
“Then, I thank her and give her the gift,” she said remembering the old ritual she had learned years ago on her first field trip to the blue planet.
By late morning and with an overcast sky, they had reached a wider (and calmer) part of the river surrounded by the lush realm. The boat floated gently toward an open space in the tangled mangrove roots rising out of the ground like gnarled and crooked limbs. Mangrove species should not have been this far up the river, but Eco had told her that new species appeared every decade; evolution in fast-forward.
“There it is. That’s Ninah’s home!” said Eco pointing to the shore, where a small wooden house stood on the edge of a cliff.
“She lives alone?” Irma asked him.
He nodded. “Her husband died a few years ago. No offspring. They mostly kept to themselves, but people visited them when they needed advice on… certain personal matters.”
Eco’s face turned bright red.
No subject had received as little attention in the field as matters of intimacy of post-Archaic human species. The subject was taboo and with good reason. Many a human researcher had landed in hot water because of their less than discrete field investigations. Every human culture had their norms around taboo topics such as conjugal bliss, and the Elysians- one of the hybrid human tribes that formed after the speciation event called the Archaic Revival, or Genetic Boom as some wits put it- were no different. These post-humans were notoriously secretive about their beliefs, so research on the topic was practically nonexistent and relied mainly on vague anecdotes. Thankfully, Eco had brought her a message from the healer Ninah, who was said to be knowledgeable in various techniques of poly-sensory interaction.
Irma stood up and holding on to the giant tangled roots rising out of the water, she jumped to the shore.
The small house perched on the hill was meticulously made of wood, rocks, and red clay. It seemed perfectly suited to the landscape with its organic form wrapped in vines and moss as if it were an ancient relic.
A narrow path, muddy but carefully reinforced with branches, cut through the foliage towards the solitary abode.
“The guest is welcomed,” said the wise woman and placed her hands on her forehead. Then leaning her seven-feet tall frame forward, Ninah touched Irma’s forehead with her claws and murmured a few words in her dialect. The woman’s furry hands smelled sweet and musky. Icy blue eyes held a steady gaze in spite of their age.
“It is a great honour to enter your home after traveling from afar. I offer this token of appreciation,” said Irma bowing to the tall Elysian while handing her an ornate box full of herbs and spices she had brought from the outer colonies.
Ninah inspected the gift shrewdly, sniffed it with her snout, and looked down at Irma.
“You are welcomed,” she said with a nod. Then she turned to look at Eco, who had been standing quietly to the side, and uttered a few sharp words.
Eco answered her in the strange guttural dialect that had roots in the Germanic tongues of the old continent called Europe.
The hybrid woman uttered what sounded like a laugh and a yelp then disappeared into another room with the present.
“What did she say?” Irma asked him.
He looked down at the floor with a soft smile and his jaguar ears pulled back.
“She asked me if I had a companion yet. I said I did not.”
The shyness of the Elysian towards topics regarding personal relationships was notorious. When the wise woman had agreed to talk with her about it, Irma had been beside herself with joy, and it was the one reason why she was back on Earth. With most humans gone from the planet, the place had literally become a jungle full of dangerous denizens, but this opportunity was hard to pass, and soon she was on a shuttle towards Earth.
Interpersonal relationships, no matter how distant, were extremely intricate and important in Elysian culture. They did not easily open up to visitors, certainly not off-world humans curious about their long lost earthly descendants. Something had motivated Ninah to approach Irma (via Eco) approximately six months prior. What was her aim? Why was she now willing to divulge the secrets of her craft?
Irma knew that her time with the shamaness was limited, so she was eager to get on with the interview, but Elysians were highly ritualistic people and liked to follow prescribed methods of interaction, which included the rite of tea-drinking.
Thankfully, Irma was already acquainted with the methodical ritual and conducted it flawlessly as the Elysian woman served her a pungent green drink from a rustic-looking gourd.
After the tea ceremony, the three of them sat in a small room filled with drying plants and animals that hung from the spiral walls rising above them.
Irma was conservative in her approach, recording only sound instead of all the other variables in traditional field investigations. Elysians were superstitious about recording devices, specially images and videos. They would definitely not submit to a full neuro-cognitive recording. Graciously, the shamaness had granted Irma permission to record her voice only and use a notebook to write down her observations.
At the beginning of her formal interview, Irma introduced herself, outlining relevant aspects of her life, work, and research at the Phobos Cultural Institute.
The shamaness listened attentively, though she did not ask any questions, her pointed wolf ears moved carefully from time to time and her ornate earrings made a tinkling sound. There was a keen intelligence in her gaze that seemed very human.
“I am told that you also work as intermediary between couples who may be experiencing difficulties…” Irma stopped and swayed in her seat feeling light headed. She pressed her fingers against her temple.
“Are you feeling alright, dear?” asked the shamaness.
“Yes, I’m just getting over a bug after the long journey,” Irma said.
“Would you like more tea?”
“Sure, it’s very invigorating.”
Irma looked down at her notepad to focus her thoughts. The letters seemed to dance and then snap back into place.
“Indeed,” said the shamaness leaning back with a smile that revealed sharp fangs. “I help everyone find what humans used to call love and happiness. Although,” she said turning to look at Eco, “some cases are more difficult than others.”
Eco’s whiskers twitched profusely, and the poor fellow seemed like he wanted nothing better than to be away from the two females.
“I understand you use different medicines and techniques,” said Irma, rubbing her eyes. “Could you tell me more about them?”
“Tell you!” said Ninah standing up, her large lean body looming above Irma.
The soft light filtered through the windows in a diffused glow that seemed to grow brighter and brighter. Ninah’s shadow grew longer and longer.
“Come,” said the shamaness climbing ornate stairs to an upper deck with an open view of the forest that stirred in all its splendour.
The canopy rustled in the breeze to the call of birds, insects, and other creatures that called out throughout the forest. It was difficult to imagine how this had once been a desert but was now a lush tropical paradise.
“Come dear,” said Ninah pointing at some cushions on the deck. “Lie here and relax. And you too, love, right beside her.”
The woman’s voice was soothing. Commanding and firm. Irma listened to her and obeyed her without resistance.
“Now,” Ninah said rummaging through a chest in the corner. “Put this on, my lovelies. You can loosen up the straps if they're too tight.”
The woman held two sets of goggles that had the words, NINTENDO Virtual Portal printed along the side.
“Now you will see!” the shamaness said with a cackle and a howl. “Now you will see!”
Darkness lit up an underwater realm of corals and floating aquatic forms for which Irma had no names. Sinuous figures floated in the muffled shadows. Electric currents activated sensors on her skin like waves of sensations softly encasing her in an energy cocoon.
She flowed through the medium, long limbs spreading then propelling her forward with ballistic momentum.
How could she ever have lived outside the ocean? The free-floating realm was absolute freedom.
Another organic form appeared in the blue. Similar but different. It had long tentacles just like her, but its skin changed colours, now mottled then striped and even flickering with lights. She was mesmerized by the light display and instinctively, her own body reacted with phantasmagoric effects.
Her skin glowed and flickering lights sent tingling bursts throughout her body in a flashy display.
The other creature approached her. She knew him.
Eco!
The lights on his skin shifted patterns.
She reacted by matching those patterns and floated closer to him, limbs reaching forward, straining for contact in an underwater embrace.
Later, she would look at her notes and realize that it was page after page of animal lore mixed with cryptic references to the stars and the oceans. She had also sketched images of crabs, star fishes, seahorses, and so on. Runes and symbols. It all looked like gibberish, and she didn’t remember jotting any of it down. Even the audio recordings were just Ninah chanting songs in her ancient dialect mixed with the electronic sounds from the VR goggles.
Irma took a deep breath. A long rest would do her good.
The boat glided through the narrow channels. Beside her, Eco looked at the river, his furry shoulders broad and muscular under the gleaming sun. He had barely said a word since they had left the shamaness’ home.
“You still haven’t told me about your experience,” Irma said.
His ears twitched.
“It was nothing,” he said. “Just clever witchy tricks and brews.”
The boat rocked lightly from side to side as they approached the river's delta. Around her, she saw cascading waterfalls, and the great palm trees that rose meters into the air.
“I will stay longer than expected,” she told him. “I was hoping you would join me. I heard a caravan of Visigoths had camped out in the north pass. I thought we could pay them a visit together.”
Playful currents lapped gently against the boat.
“I have to make a quick trip to my village,” said Eco, “but I can join you in two days' time.”
The water murmured as they floated down the river toward the great open ocean.
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