Stars Of Memory

Chapter 9

The program grows slowly, boosted in progress each time a Saieat hits as it grows stronger and better with the detection system. It has been a week since Jīvitaya started on the program and she has only stopped twice - well, besides the times she went to get food or go to the bathroom - and those two stops were only because Kysanden forced her to stop and rest. There is a beep from the screen in front of her, followed by a countdown of five minutes. Jīvitaya watches it with bated breath as it counts down. When it reaches the five-second mark, she anchors the levik to the floor. Finally, the last second falls away, followed by another Saieat. A few minutes pass before the program beeps again as the Saieat ends. Jīvitaya scrambles to release the levik's anchor and direct it down the hall to where Kysanden is waiting. When she reaches him, he is standing at the galley window, staring out at Mior. She stops beside him and waits until he turns a moment later and jumps with surprise at seeing her there.

"You aren't on the screen!"

She laughs. "Is it that much of a surprise for me to have left it?"

He smiles sheepishly. "Considering the fact that you haven't left it for a week, yes."

Her voice is dry as she speaks, "Thanks." Then she smiles to reassure him that she is joking.

"So, why have you emerged?"

"The program worked! It calculated when the Saieat began and ended!"

Kysanden beams at her before rushing out of the room. Jīvitaya follows him at a slower pace as he races out to where Rebexi is waiting. By the time Jīvitaya reaches the entryway to the ship, Kysanden is already on his way back up the ramp, Rebexi in tow. As he reaches her, Jīvitaya turns the levik and directs them to the screen room. They enter the room just in time for another Saieat alert to pop up on the screen. Jīvitaya anchors the levik to the ground before turning to the others.

"I'd suggest you hold on to something."

It takes them a moment to react, but they soon grab onto the levik, seeing that it is already anchored. They act just in time, the Saieat starting just after they wrap their hands around the levik. This Saieat is much shorter, only lasting a minute before the monitor beeps again, alerting them that it is ending.

Rebexi turns to Jīvitaya and beams broadly. "You really did it!"

Jīvitaya smiles back at her. "Now I have to figure out a more permanent solution, because you said that the Saieats are caused by your growing sun, right?"

"That is correct."

"The first and simplest solution I can think of is to move to another planet, but I doubt you want to leave your planet."

"That's true, we will only leave if it is the only solution we have that will allow us to survive this."

"Okay, I'm going to test something. Do you have any houseboats or anything similar?"

"We should, but it might take a while for me to get you one."

"That's fine, I can work on distributing and updating the program. Do you have a small screen with you?"

Rebexi nods and pulls one out of her pocket. "Here."

Jīvitaya grabs her tablet and taps on it for a second before a code pops up on the screen. She types it into Rebexi's tablet, where a smaller version of the program appears. She taps again on the tablet and a small window pops up on it in the corner. She hands the tablet back to Rebexi, who glances at it before sliding it into her pocket. Then she turns to go, but Jīvitaya stops her.

"How many other people have tablets?"

"Not everyone, but there should be at least a couple of people with them in every village. Why?"

"If you encounter anyone with a tablet, could you load the program into their device? I've put the instructions on your tablet, in that little window in the top corner."

"I can do that, and thank you."

Rebexi turns again and exits the room, but before Jīvitaya can turn back to the big screen, Kysanden speaks.

"You did a good job, Jīa." Jīvitaya jumps, and he laughs. "Did I startle you?"

She smiles sheepishly. "I had forgotten that you were there."

"Why did you want a houseboat?"

"We know that water blocks the effects of the Saieat, so I want to know if people here could move out onto the water and not be affected because of the water."

"That's pretty smart, good idea!"

"Thank you, Kys. Will you let me work now?"

He laughs again and bows mockingly before backing out of the room. Jīvitaya smiles at his antics before turning back to the screen with the program on it. Within a couple of hours, she extends the warning window of the Saieats to fifteen minutes, which would hopefully be enough time for those on land to get to a body of water.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What do you guys think? Will the houseboat excursion be successful? What do you think will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out