Intercontinental Ferry – Sterilla
Cycle 6002.643.06.75 W
Once again Neodig was up early. This time he was heading to the ferry terminal. The same driver and Cam had once again collected him. This time his bags were much better organised and he loaded up in the front entrance. He wished he could be staying. But there was no time for dwelling on wishes at the moment.
He took in the sights of the estate and the surrounding fields. The car again working to smooth out the rough surface and gravel patches. Once out of their part of the island, they entered the industrial estate.
The industrial estate was a mix of pockets of factories and commercial areas, surrounded by cheap crammed housing. Efficiently organised to cram in workers as much as possible, it meant officials occasionally had to quieten anyone that complained about the sardine affect.
Any remaining tiny spots in this area had bars, parks, shops, temples, health centres and recreational facilities squished in. In some ways it was impressive how well this human sardine tin of a development kept everything close and efficient. The tidiness and brightness of the place was all a show to pretend things were going smoothly. This area was like a machine, slowly grinding down the people dwelling there.
Once again the driver had smoothly slipped through the traffic and obstacles of the area, keeping them steadily progressing. It was a relief to get to the coast, with it’s more touristy feel. First they made there way along a road that was being filled with large stylish houses. These places were escapes for those that were well to do, to maintain the doses of luxury and endorphins, that one of standing should have.
Once past that area of the coast, blocked of by individual holdings, it opened to a softer beach area. Cafes and public spaces here still had a stiff organised feeling to them. People could at least get to the sea and pretend to relax here though. With plenty of tourist accommodation scattered in this area and spots for outings, this space was really lively during the weekend. Currently it was quiet being the start of the morning and the middle of the week.
The ferry terminal stood out, stylishly slotted in the end of the beach and cafes. Big arches framed its openings and windows. Solid modern paneling had been cut and crafted, to clad the rest of the frame. The cladding both protected it from the salty air and gave sharp architectural lines, that had been carefully finished by an immaculate render job.
This area had better parking than a lot of areas in the capital. But being so quiet, the driver just let Neodig off at a loading zone out the front. He tried to make a joke about being babied, he could have caught the bus. Cam teased back at the rate he was going, if there was a next time picking him up they would probably need fish slices to get him off the pavement. He thanked them and headed into the terminal.
Inside was another contrast of features. Again the construction and services were often tidily on display through the two main ferry bays. The offices and facilities like polished capsules would pop out all over the place. While the two bays for ferries to collect passengers in were not stricktly controlled by barriers compared to other terminals, there were enough cameras that things generally went according to plan, one way or another. In fact it was probably the main reason that Neodig was not still being escorted.
At one of the ticketing booths, he displayed a snapshot of the ticket he had brought the night before. With that, he was checked off on a screen and nodded through. He was now in the bay for economy ferry travel. This bay was in the far corner of the terminal and slightly screened off. Once in here there were few of the stylish touches, except for the elegant bench seating. He sat down with a mix of everyday citizens and got ready for a wait. He was in the habit of checking in early, even though it was unusual to do it for this ferry.
Through the screening he looked at the elegant and sleek ferry waiting for the elites. It was the latest generation sea planing ferry. Every line of its bodywork screamed luxury vechicle. The panels and windows were so neatly fitted that unless one was open, it was hard to see the joins.
With those around him having been again caught up in there own thoughts or conversation he took the chance to look around. There were mainly middle aged and older couples. Most were traveling lightly, suggesting shorter trips. He by far would have been the youngest there at this stage.
He adjusted his sitting position to at least have his torso nicely aligned. Now that he had the chance to stop and wait, his brain was trying to worry. He glanced at his two bags, wondering if he had packed well for whatever his trip would turn out to be.
He had once read an ultralight tramping book. It had suggested breaking everything into categories from clothes through to sleeping system. Other times it had worked really well especially when he had done test runs to tune what he would take on each trip.
This time he was not entirely sure what he was packing for and there were definitely no test runs. This time instead of survival gear in the specialist section, he packed notepads and a tablet. So far Cam’s advice had been the most useful. The only main things that Navi island seemed to be in need of, was a system that could pull everything together and help them create a stable social system.
An automated voice announced the time until the next ferry arrived and he was saved from thinking about things any further. Now more people were starting to show up and do final double checks before they too collapsed onto the benches. Some hadn’t done as well with the early morning organisation and would run back out to the car-park as they realised they had forgotten something.
Spluttering engines could now be heard above the generic upbeat music. Bouncing quickly towards them was an older and more down to earth ferry. Compared to the luxury ship, this one almost looked cartoonish. The obvious panels and cheerful shape of this ships design had been manufactured in one of the nearby factories. The engines were cut and then it glided into the bay before plopping back down int the sea. It tidily drifted into place as invisible technology made only minor corrections for it’s arrival.
As the gang plank was secured, tired people shuffled off the boat. There were some more energetic people, happy to be reunited with those waiting for them. The shaking of hands, smiles and happy chatter brought warmth to the place. Some just ran and embraced. He day-dreamed and wished for a bit, but then it was time to start shuffling towards the baggage check in.
A tidily dressed guy took his bags and gave him a collection tag. With that, there was another sixth of a demi wait for the cleaning to be finished. He watched as each scissor lift load of checked luggage, was lifted and then slotted neatly into the side of the hull. The door ran on larger than needed rails, that could handle plenty of used and survive the elements without much fuss.
The door slid forward and into the side of the hull neatly, despite the obvious joins and construction of that side of the ship. With that it was time for passengers to board and he joined the bottleneck, that was the start of the human traffic jamb entering the ship. People mainly seemed to be moving efficiently, keen to get the trip over with. Many gave polite smiles in response to the greeter crews cheerful welcomes. The passengers all seemed to be used to this and there were no interruptions as they slowly filed in.
The boat, once released, again drifted out as if pulled by unseen ropes. Spin had been added as the ship left the bay door and it slowly faced away from the terminal as it bobbed with the swell. It sounded like two of the engines started at a relaxed idle. The ship calmly inched away from the terminal.
Once it had some distance four engines spluttered and burbled. The ship gradually picked up speed and eventually pulled itself out of the water. Once it was planing the ship progressed quickly and relatively smoothly. Short of serious storms even this more basic ferry could turn what would have been half a days travel, into a trip of a couple of demis.
Heading into the second section in of the level he was on, he found a comfy seat along the back wall. There he had a reassuring place for the trip and could make out some detail through the windows on both sides of the ship. The ferry was free of music. So he could relax to a degree. A lot of places in the capital had a non stop barrage of songs with pleasant melodies, but vicious, agitation summoning lyrics.
As those around him settled he had two groups nearby. One gaggle of ladies were complaining about their family and how difficult the event they had just attended was. They were in sync and adjusted and updated their complaints as they gossiped to maintain a united front for whatever crusade they were mounting in their family.
Another family comfortable and loud chatted through their hopes for the upcoming weekend. A couple of them were racing on bikes and were looking forward to the buzz. Mini generators sent these delicately engineered bikes flying around tracks at ridiculous speeds.
While it sounded like the whole family were involved in racing, only the father and daughter were riding this weekend. The son most notably was not, as they teased him about recovering as he worked at breaking every bone in his body through a bad string of accidents.
He kept alert a little longer and found nothing of concern. Managing to half nap through the uneventful trip helped pass the time. He looked out the window to see the island as they approached. The islands to the west were of an older stricter tradition. Approaching into an inlet of the island that was otherwise almost completely surrounded by cliffs and old fortifications, helped announce this to visitors.
The ferry slowed to a respectful putter shortly after entering the inlet, completely unlike it’s entrance at the capital. Sailing boats that had not changed design in centuries were used by those with the least, as one way of making a living. The weaved through each other as they either went about fishing or trading related tasks. Some boats got quite close to the ferry’s buoy marked lane, clearly used to the ferry behaving safely and were unphased about riding over it’s now gentle wake.
The Adenga docks came into view. Buildings and canals sat well next to each other in the back of the inlet. The main canal was off to one side and lead up to a huge warehouse like building. There was also contrast in the design of this building. But the contrast was of old and new.
The outside mainly looked like it has stood unchanged for centuries. A tiled roof and large timber beams could have been crafted decades ago. On the outside of this building, the modern touches were subtle. Glazed windows were the most obvious addition. Otherwise lanterns with energy lights retro-fitted, sensors, camera and security additions were harder to spot from a distance.
Extending up the cliff there were a mix of old style cable systems and more modern elevators. All seemed well maintained. The entrance to the ferry bay here was slightly smaller but much grander. The ship had plenty of room to get through the elegantly carved and beautifully maintained timber. It had a vibrant red stain to it and a gloss suggesting a fresh protective coat.
This time as the ship glided more carefully into the bay, obviously occasionally adjusting it’s course, with the use of it’s mainly idling engines.Once in position ropes were thrown to the dock hands from four hatches on the boat and these helped ease the boat into place with a few minute adjustments.
With this done an ornate staircase, more like a drawbridge in appearance, lowered against the side of the ship. It fitted a lot more neatly than the sloppy gang plank. Also something like a cross between a bamboo scaffold and siege engine was rolling towards the side of the ship. It two locked neatly into the baggage hatch and there was more people in this one than at the last stop.
These dock-hands matched the efficiently of the scissor lift of the capital terminal. They were clearly well cared for. They made the exercise look like light exertion and everything including a couple of bike crates was carefully and happily unloaded. The tower pivoted and then the dock-hands moved into the other end, to load the next passengers luggage. This had happened before the existing passenger had even managed to exit the ship.
Neodig watched the dock-hands load as it was more calming than taking in the sights of the city. Then once the human traffic jam exiting the boat speed up, he joined it. As he moved he scanned the traffic jamb especially watching to see if anyone new was slipping in or out of sync with the rest of the crowds movement.
As those working at the estate had taught him he scanned the crowd and calmly picked his way through making it to the far end of the tower. There he joined the queues for baggage counters which were quickly and efficiently reuniting travelers with their luggage. Soon he had his two packs and continued without noticing anything too out of place.
Usually at entry points there would just be watchers and more harmless female agents. If nothing else he was alert again and followed a different flow of foot traffic out of one of the more central exits. After flowing along with the foot traffic he took one of the walkways that had been lovingly carved into the side of the cliff.
He stopped at the platforms breaking up the expanse of stairs. He hoped he looked like he was admiring the view. To some degree he was looking to see how the area had changed since he had last been there. He was also checking to see if there was anything or anyone unusual.
Although if it was Neodig’s families enemies, even that might not do much good as they would use divination to lay traps or set up accidents that would be hard to conclusively trace back. There was also most likely someone connected to the accommodation he was staying at, already prepped with various concerned rumors regardless of how he acted.
He continued up the steep steps to one of the more cut off bits of the wall. Here there was a temple which maintained order and productivity for the small area above. The accommodation in this area would also benefit from this, be cheap and have nice views. He would probably have to pop down to the library to finish planning his trip though.
As he eventually made it to the top of the steps, it was hard not to be distracted by the beauty of the place. What in eras gone by had been a crucial fortification in the wall, was now a sanctuary that sheltered about thirty fruit trees, various strips of vegetable gardens and even the odd animal pen. A lot of the buildings around the temple here still operated as simply as they had when the island was first settled.
He followed a path bordered by elaborately layered, healthy shrubs and trees. Emerging at the guest house he wandered in. He was politely greeted and asked about his trip. While this could have been a good guess, it was not. He relaxed and chatted with the clearly competent administrator. After showing some identification he was show to a small tidy room.
He was wished a productive stay and then left to settle himself in his room. So he unpacked some of his bags into the tidy clothes draws and larger cupboard. The room was plastered but besides that everything was made with wood. Impressive joinery held everything together. It was not to the point of being perfectionist though. Things had clearly been made with a calm flow, and shaped without machining to mathematically precise levels.
He headed to the shower to clean up after a day morning of traveling hill climbing in the full force of the sun and winds. After that the food hall was the next stop. It was like an ols style buffet, the dishes were probably sitting in hot water. He grabbed a couple of scoops of the most savory looking dishes and plopped into his seat. All of the dishes had radiated warmth and nutritional value.
He sat down and enjoyed the well balanced subtle tastes and texture of the food in front of him. To call it simple food would be wrong, maybe clean (and delicious) food was a better description. He let his thoughts wander for a while after he quickly finished the food.
He was surprised when the administrator appeared and asked if he could sit. He let Neodig know that both the spirits and the whisperers seemed to be quite interested in him. Neodig gave what he hoped was an apologetic smile. The administrator smiled back almost a mischievously. Unfazed he asked if he could offer a suggestion. Neodig nodded, interested to hear what the man would say.
He suggested Neodig stay for another two nights and then journey down river on a barge. Neodig though for a bit. Since the man had directly acknowledged the situation he took it as a good sign. Generally those of the Esirhcrah temples could be trusted to provide great food and insight to visitors of interest, with the hopes of luring them in. Beyond that though, they seemed to be just another group that maintained hard working, docile followers.
Neodig inquired further about how he suggested the extra time would be spent. The administrator said he could find someone for him to work with and sharpen up his gardening skills for the trip to come. Overall it seemed like a useful way to begin his trip. Neodig quickly asked for the administrator to arrange this. Happy the administrator left to organise things.
He had barely finished returning his tray to the kitchen before an enthusiastic apprentice came running. Confirming he was Neodig he introduced himself as Ragu. For the rest of the day they went up and down one group of the garden strip beds. The variety of tools they used here was impressive.
Though clearly overkill for the afternoons tasks it gave Neodig a great introduction to a few new types of weeders. He had also received lots of useful pointers for maintaining a better posture and rhythm for his work. Overall it was a very enjoyable and informative afternoon, that had almost past in a relaxing fashion.
At dinner the food hall was much more crowded. Grabbing food Ragu expertly weaved his way through the tables having found them a spot to eat. Having grabbed a big bottle of beer his excited talk about the progress of his fellow workers and interesting happening on the island talked.
After enjoying the work and food from that day, Neodig was left to his own devices. The followers that did not currently have responsibilities for running the area went to the evening service. Sometimes melodic chants and songs would escape the temple. But mainly they would be listening to the sections of spirit history and doctrine that the Esirhcrah favoured.
He had another quick shower and returned to his room, exhausted put his work clothes in the basket and left his bag in-front of the locked door. His trainer at the estate would have expected him to at least check for obvious entrances behind the drawers and through the built in part of the cupboard, but he was exhausted and happily collapsed into dreamland.
He slept well and woke up early again the next morning. Ragu found him after the early morning prayers were complete. Neodig had just finished some breakfast and the fact that he had some basic discipline clearly reassured the boy that he wasn’t completely wasting his time on this outsider.
This time they loaded up tools and went don from the fortification, further inland. With a couple of other teams they were helping with the pruning at a farm belonging to an aging couple. Ragu happily chatted about how pruning could best help trees. From the basic idea of shape, developing the tree and then managing this through the seasons.
There was way more information than Neodig could take in but he enjoyed learning and improving with Ragu’s polite guidance. They moved far more slowly than the other two teams. Every now and again in the afternoon they would even go and watch the other teams work.
It was impressive to see how the teams could talk through each section of a row and quickly make decisions. Then they would allocate tasks for whoever had a pruning style that best suited the tree, while the others collected and used little hatchets to chip the branches. It was all done in an efficient almost creepily cheerful manor.
Another day passed in a cheerful manner. The walk back up to the temple with the gear they had brought was almost harder than the days work. After having a shower and having a couple of helpings of the delicious food he stayed in the chair he was at. He was partially happy to be talking with them. He was also too tired and full to be in a hurry to move.
Once again he was left to his own devices when they left for the evening service. He took the chance to again get a fantastic sleep. The next day they again walked down the steps inland. They came to an overgrown property and spent a lot of time weeding and trimming things back. Then soil outside the garden, exposed by this tidy up was freshly seeded with grass. Then it was watered and covered with a coconut fibre blanket. And again another pleasant day came to an end.
Wehl 2024
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