Chapter 13: Inverted Tower

One morning, Ada descended the pass of the great mountains, accompanied by two Xenos: Alpha, who followed with slow, long strides, and Kutkh, enjoying the warmth inside her hood.

As with every “spring” (there were three per HS standard year), the snow had melted rapidly, and the vividly colored flowers were reclaiming their territory.

The children spotted her first, and by the time they alerted the adults working in the greenhouses, the entire village had gathered in silence to await her return. Uncle Senga stood at the forefront, hands on his hips, his rifle slung across his back, as if witnessing the return of a ghost. Indeed, Ada was not returning weak and starving from lack of food or water but walking with a determined and energetic stride.

The young girl had no rebellious attitude toward the adults, even though Paul Jespersen looked visibly contrite. She was prepared to take responsibility for the damage to the greenhouse. The planetary guardian spoke first:

“Ada, you are welcome back to your village. First and foremost, given recent events, know that you are no longer under the guardianship of the Jespersens. I am officially relieving them of their duties, and you will now live under my roof. Secondly, we do not hold you responsible for the damage to the greenhouse. Lastly, I have a series of questions for you...”

“The Jespersens receive an allowance for my guardianship,” Ada interjected suddenly, guided by a sudden intuition. “I want to receive it instead.”

Senga turned toward Paul, who gave a reluctant nod.

“Very well. Now, regarding your departure: when you ran away three days ago ... we followed your trail. We couldn’t find you.”

“Alpha carried me, I think.”

“I mean, there was no trail. I have a tracking drone; it can locate life forms within 1,500 meters. You were invisible.”

“Well ... I don’t have magical powers.”

Senga shot Alpha a wary look, but the Xeno only returned his vacant stare. Kutkh decided to climb out of Ada’s hood and perched on her shoulder, eliciting gasps of surprise from the children. Senga squinted at it.

“There are animals up there,” Ada explained. “And drinkable water. And food. There’s even a Xeno house.”

“A Xeno civilization here?” Father Salute asked, crossing himself.

“I only saw the animals and a house.”

The villagers collectively sighed with relief.

“Food and water,” Senga finally said. “If that’s true, Ada, you’ve saved us. Every cloud has its silver lining. I’m glad to have you back, my girl.”

The day had grown warm, and Ada removed her coat. Paul Jespersen approached, mumbling apologies. The girl felt pity for him but didn’t reply. If she could, she would never speak to him again, though his figure, wielding a shovel, would surely haunt her nightmares alongside the many tragedies of her past.

The planetary guardian’s house was a relic of bygone luxury. The walls and colors were faded, and the furniture was ancient, yet it bore the eccentric charm of a millionaire’s whim—one who had likely grown bored of their personal planet after only a few days. Now, Ada had her own room with a balcony overlooking the lake, a library filled with musty paper books, LED lamps from another era, a map of the planet adorning the wall, a soft bed with feathered quilts, and, most importantly, her own personal LE.

Alpha returned to farm work, much to Ada’s reluctance, though she eventually accepted the situation given the massive cleanup required after the contamination of the soil. Kutkh, however, thrived in the house, sunbathing on the balcony or curling up near the LE’s power supply.

Two days later, an expedition—comprising Senga, Sarah, the eldest Salute daughter known for her honesty and courage, Father Bihotz, and Ada as their guide—set out to reach the “Xeno plateau” where she had survived for three days.

The journey took several hours and was far more arduous on the ascent. The cold bit sharply as they crossed a recently thawed pass, and after navigating a mass of gray rocks, they reached the plateau. The stream was there, as were the feathered lizards.

Only the Xeno house was missing.

Senga knelt by the stream, analyzing a sample with a portable device. He did the same with the algae wafers. Once analyzed, he and his companions tasted them. Ada overheard their words, laden with a calm yet awe-filled excitement she had never experienced before.

“The plateau is high enough that cyanobacteria can’t develop,” Bihotz concluded.

“The water comes from melting glaciers. It’s pure. So are the algae. I saw small insects, too,” Senga added. “There’s a whole ecosystem compatible with our biology. The xeno-biologists who surveyed this planet did a terrible job.”

“Then,” said Salute’s daughter, “we can farm here. No need to import soil. Just seeds. Replant. Irrigate.”

“This is far more than that, my friends,” Senga said. “This is a habitable planet. We can bring tourists here. The SH will calculate new, shorter routes. You’ve always dreamed of building your church in the After. That became impossible. But now, you can build your church here.”

“Saint Mary of Providence,” Bihotz said, bursting into laughter.

“Saint Ada, rather,” Senga murmured, glancing at the girl, who was searching the ground. “The patron saint of nuns. She discovered the water and the algae. Remember that. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to receive a substantial reward from the HS for discovering a new, habitable world. Ada!”

Ada stared stubbornly at the ground. Senga approached her as Father Bihotz muttered, “It was right in front of us all along...” In the grass lay a perfectly smooth black stone with three sides.

“The Xeno house was here, Uncle,” Ada said. “But now only this stone remains.”

Senga parted the grass to reveal the stone. It was undoubtedly unnatural.

“Xeno presence, without a doubt. That xeno-biologist really botched the job.”

“Guardian, there was an entire house! Whole!”

“And the Xenos took it away. It’s strange, Ada, but not the strangest thing Xenos have done. I believe you about the house. They must be shy. I’m sure they’re somewhere. Maybe they’re even watching us right now.”

“It was a stone house, Uncle. Super heavy.”

“I’ll bet we’ll solve the mystery one day.”

When Ada returned, she borrowed an old feather pen and ink from an antique ivory and redwood desk. She picked up a collection of poems titled The Legend of the Ages. Opening to the final poem, she read the words: The multiple being lives within my dark unity, which struck her so deeply that she considered the book special. In the margin beside the line, she began to carefully reproduce, from memory, the constellations of the Stellar Language she had spent hours contemplating.

As she worked, Ada addressed her LE:

“LE, I found a Xeno house on Clelia. There were words in the Stellar Language.”

“I believe someone is playing a trick on you, Gorylkin. There is no Xeno civilization on Clelia; this is confirmed by the planet’s exploratory reports. Would you like me to read the xenobiology report to you?”

“No. Another question. What does the symbol of an inverted Tower of Babel mean?”

“There is no known symbol representing an inverted Tower of Babel, Gorylkin. Perhaps you saw it on a flipped slab? Maybe it represents the head of a drill?”

“With a triangle next to it.”

“I cannot assist you, Gorylkin.”

The response was far too curt. Could Sol and her accomplices have censored the EVs this far out? And why censor these specific topics? Ada finished her manual copying and asked one last question:

“LE, I saw a house disappear. How do you explain that?”

As expected, the LE launched into a lengthy discussion of houses disappearing in various disasters, as well as fictional homes like those from The Wizard of Oz or Baba Yaga. “That’s it,” thought Ada. “The LE goes on endlessly about meaningless topics and references numerous sources—except when it comes to certain precise themes. I’m still being watched. I need to be careful.”