Circle Of Life

“I am proud of you,” Sehana said and let go of him. The harbormaster was already waiting for Lemo to go through the mission briefing one last time. He’d told him he needed a couple of minutes to say goodbye to his wife. It was unusual for a married Ahana to embark on a journey to the Circle. But Lemo had turned out to be the perfect candidate. They’d talked about it for months, argued about family, pride, and honor. They had to do it.

As always, there were hundreds of people scattered throughout the small harbor at the northern island of Sahan. The harbor was built at the end of a fifty-meter wide river that lead to the world’s sole ocean. It was artificially straightened and fixated by twenty kilometers of walls made from solid wood. That alone had taken decades to build but people had been eager to partake in the construction. The river’s general orientation pointed it almost straight at the northern Circle, a coincidence that had turned into a great symbol of life. Allowing the One Concession to start its month-long journey without needing to swerve around natural meandering was told to bring good luck. It also meant that people could gather for kilometers along its length to witness the event that took place only once every twenty years. For security reasons, sheriffs across the island have come to the harbor to secure a perimeter for Lemo. In a two hundred meter radius, nobody besides the harbormaster, Lemo, and, in this specific case, his wife were allowed to enter. As there were no buildings or other structures near the single jetty holding the One Concession, helpers had built a small visual cover for Lemo and Sehana to talk in peace and quiet for the last time in their lives.

“I want our child to be born into a world that does not know fear and sorrow. I wish I could meet her, let her know that I will always keep her safe, always be there for her from atop.” A tear came out of his right eye and Sehana wiped it away slowly before embracing him again.

“We are doing the right thing. She will know and she will understand. You will bring us new life and that is more than most can say of themselves. I love you.”

“I love you.”

They let go of each other and Lemo had to fight the urge to grab her again, to call the journey off and see the birth of their daughter. He’d known it would be difficult but he made a promise to Sehana and his people. There would be no going back from now on. With one last glance into the twinkling eyes of his loving wife, he turned around and walked towards the harbormaster. His heart started to pump, he felt the crowd behind the separation ropes starting to cheer, their entire attention focused on him. There were mothers and fathers, children eagerly trying to get past, to catch sight of the first harvester that they had seen in their short lives. He tried to look at each one of them, giving them a sense of optimism and hope. There were too many. He gave up and started to look at the ship he was about to embark on.

The One Concession had always been a mystery. It was built from a material that was sturdier yet lighter and thinner than even the hardest wood ever known. The fifteen by twenty meter rectangular base of the ship was pushed down barely half a meter and yet it was filled with a variety of different separated structures providing shelter and storage for the journey. The residence was taking up a third of the ship’s length and was placed at the front of it, with giant windows on each side protected by indestructible transparent barriers. In the back, a small cubical chamber held the mechanisms needed to secure the Crystal once it had been harvested. The room was kept at minus nineteen degrees, according to the displays on the control panel that was inside the front residence structure, facing outward. Nobody knew how it did that or how it managed to move without any kind of fuel. All you had to do was tell it where you want to go and it would begin acceleration before hitting a top speed of 97 km/h. Lemo heard legends about the wind constantly blowing against your face at that speed and what sense of vulnerability it gave a person.

He reached the near end of the jetty and formally greeted the harbormaster. He waved his hand and gestured him onto the path to the One Concession.

“We have stored provisions in the middle section of the ship. You’ll have enough food for five weeks. Be aware that the Seer has projected slightly harsh weather conditions just south of the beginning of the ice fields. Nothing the One Concession can’t handle, of course. But you will have to watch out for the waves. Remember, this mission is of the greatest importance to us all. We rely on you!” the harbormaster said to him.

“I’m not going to disappoint you. I have a family and I will make sure that they can live a life worth living.” Just now he realized the salty smell of the fresh air. Gusts of wind strained the old little jetty while the ship didn’t move at all. In the distance, he could see about a dozen other ships, arching over the horizon line, forming a corridor for him wide enough to safely pass through. They were fisher boats for the most part, but some were rafts made out of loosely rope-bound logs barely floating above the water. People went to extreme lengths to see a harvester leaving the harbor. At the shores to the left and right, many more hundreds of people were leaning over the walls expectantly. Some of them had traveled here from the other islands, some even from the capital. He heard birds join the chants and cheers from the people in his back. When they reached the plank leading to the ship, the harbormaster bid Lemo farewell.

For the first two hours of the journey, Lemo had reduced the speed to allow people a last look at the ship before it entered the ocean and accelerated. The cheering hadn’t stopped, the people had been celebrating him from afar. He could easily hear their echoes that, no matter how dispersed they became due to the increasing wind coming from the coast, slashing through the river. He was sitting at the front, eyes fixed on the tiny control panel that was providing him with an estimated route to his destination. The crossing would take him about three weeks, which was a little faster than normal thanks to the strong tailwind that had developed over the past four hours. He stood up and grabbed his coat from the soft couch next to the console. While the ship somehow filled the interior with a comfortable and constant warmth, the temperature outside had fallen considerably. He went to the impressive sliding door that opened without any kind of noise as soon as he walked towards it. Once on deck, he squeezed through a small path between the cargo containers, to a railing at the side of the ship that was about half as high as he was. He grabbed onto it and looked at the rough sea. The smell of salt spread in his mouth as the cold air filled his lungs. Despite its weight, the One Concession didn’t wobble in the slightest. Graciously, it glided through the water, only following the greater ups and downs of the sea. He thought about Sehana, who probably would already be home by now. This time, she wasn’t there to wipe away his tears. The horizon turned to a mix of orange and yellow as Owa began to set in the distance. With a growing sense of remorse, he went back to his cabin and fell on his bed.

The storm had formed within two hours. The sea had been the calmest yet on his journey but now it was flinging masses of water at him in a seemingly desperate try to keep him away from the Circle. Even the One Concession couldn’t quite hold steady against the ten meter high waves all around them. Everything inside was shaking and turning, Lemo had to fasten himself to the seat in front of the console. It was displaying an ever-changing course that tried to avoid the worst part of the storm. The harbormaster had assured him the ship could withstand anything nature threw at it but in the end, nobody had an idea about its real capabilities and limitations. Lightning struck the sea every second, filling the clouded night sky with a spectacle of light that was scattered into every direction by the heavy rain. Ironically, as doomed as the outside world looked right now, inside was perfect silence. The only thing he could hear was the slightest of hums, the only thing preventing him from turning this ship into a magical vessel in his mind. He tried to focus on distant points to lessen his arising feeling of sickness, but there wasn’t anything static within a radius of fifty kilometers. Giving up on it, he grabbed a bag and threw up. As he recovered, a tiny light began to blink on the upper-right edge of the console. The harbormaster hadn’t told him what it meant; he probably didn’t know either. Normally, the ship handled everything itself except for the target destination. He looked at all the readings and tried to find something that was standing out. His speed was constant, the rear chamber had been properly sealed and secured and the front

Suddenly, the ship tilted heavily before steadying itself again only seconds after. Lemo looked around, confusion and panic painted all over his face. He undid his straps and walked to the closed door, trying to hold on to objects on his path. Through one of the windows, he could see the space the lost cargo had left. It was gone. The light probably indicated the container’s ties being loosened before strong winds lifted it up and into the deadly ocean. He recalled what the container held. Most of the equipment needed for the second part of the journey was stored on the other side, in the other container. This one contained more than half of his provisions. His heart seemed to fall onto his stomach. This wasn’t supposed to happen. What would he eat now? His heart pumped as waves crashed onto the windows as if the sea wanted to take even more from him. He managed to get back to his seat, fastened himself and tried to breathe as slowly as possible to calm him down. It took him ten minutes but now he was working on a plan. He would have to ration, but it was doable. This wasn’t going to be easy.

He ate the last dried chicken from the survival pack he had taken from the One Concession. Under normal circumstances, he would have allowed his last meal to be a feast. But it didn’t matter anymore. He was only meters away from the Crystal of Life, an egg-like structure glowing intensely from the light that shone upon it. It had been planted twenty years ago by another brave traveler to keep the world alive. The Crystal was half-buried under a thick layer of snow and ice but was already loosened by the now-retracted roots, allowing it to be taken out of its growth place and into a transport sleigh Lemo had brought along. This was the last and most important part of his journey; making sure that it got back to the islands in time.

He arrived at the ship and put the Crystal into the climatized chamber where it would continue to mature during the month-long trip back home. For the last time, he then went back into the front part of the ship and sat before the console. This was his last chance to duck out, to return with the harvest, to get back to his wife and the daughter that should have been introduced to the world two weeks ago. He could get to know her, be there for her and her mother. But the consequences would be tremendous. Without a fresh Crystal in twenty years' time, the world was doomed to die. This was the Circle Of Life.

He typed in his home island’s coordinates and left the ship for the last time. He didn’t even need his equipment anymore. He watched the ship turn around and leave through the path of broken ice it had created when they had arrived at the Circle. After five minutes, it was already lost behind the horizon.

Lemo stood back by the place he’d harvested the Crystal earlier. With anticipation and a good portion of fear, he stepped into the small hole and became the next seed.