Endosymbiosis

18. Evolutionary Convergence

The glare of the sun dazzled my eyes for a moment, until I got used to the light enough to see the city of the columbas. Surrounded by trees, hundreds of purple wooden houses that looked like they were made for dolls sprawled across the grass, connected by cobblestone streets to a mansion barely reaching my waist. The fertile land of that world sang in the rustle of every leaf, in a forest refuge; an Itopis refuge.

As soon as they noticed us, the columbas flew in a chaotic whirlwind of white feathers and chirping.

"What are they saying?" Kadi asked me, while my translator only came across noises outside its database.

Some of the creatures landed on our heads as if to make nests and dug into our skin with their claws. I felt my mind being invaded by needles that seemed to pinch my brain and I tried to free myself, but they only broke free of us and flew in a stampede after they got what they wanted. I stared at Kadi, who had the same question on his face as I did.

When a columba with wings larger than the rest emerged from the small mansion with her silver feathers gleaming in the sun, I knew she was the one to doom us. Her body floated toward us as if the air were her servant until she stopped before me, her owl eyes studying me.

"What do you want in our world?" She whispered in our human language, learned instantly as if it had always been hers... Probably because she had copied it from the minds of those who actually always had her.

I stared at Kadi, not knowing how to respond. The truth was not an option.

"We want to... Meet him." I tried, smelling my lie in the air. Could columbas be able to perceive it too?

The leader approached me, scrutinizing me, and when she thought she knew everything she needed about me, she made her decision:

"So welcome!" When I released the air trapped in my lungs my relief blew through her feathers. "Today we will feast!"

• • • ֍ • • •

Behind the little mansion the columbas led us to a circle on the grass where they joined. I sat cross-legged and Kadi imitated me, as suspicious as I was. We not only looked like aliens in that world, but we felt too.

The columbas brought unknown fruits that had the most diverse shapes, sizes, colors and smells, mixing in an orchestra of aromas in the air. When the creatures started to help themselves, asking us with their eyes to do the same, Kadi reached up to obey, but then I touched his hand, warning him that it wasn't a good idea. Everything in this world could be poisonous to us, however sweet it may seem; and, being fragile as we were, we had to be careful.

"Call me Plumala." Said the leader columba. "What do you want to know about our world?" She had sounded so helpful I felt awful for not having anything to ask her about. But Kadi, managed to think of something:

"How is your world so heavenly and peaceful?"

"I imagine that our pacifism is as foreign to you as the brutality of the universe is to us. Not long ago we became aware of the worlds that make up the Empire... And the cruelties that their peoples commit." Plumala reflected. "See these trees? We create them from seeds in the coldness of our labs, because this world would never have made them." I flew my eyes over those purple trees that surrounded us, where I would never have imagined there was so much knowledge of manipulating the codes of nature. "We built them to change our atmosphere and make this world our refuge."

My spine snapped straight. Atmosphere?! We were so used to the uniformity of the Itopis' worlds that we forgot about the weapon that could be in what we didn't see. I almost got up to bolt right then and there, but Kadi touched my arm, letting me know this was a bad idea.