We will find all the answers, Dandin nodded. The Emperor will find them.
Do you know about the signal? the doctor hesitated. We would like to know why you sent it to us.
Dandin tilted his head, trying to understand the doctors words:
You want to ask the Emperor why he turned on the recording you sent him?
What? No! the doctor wondered.
Everyone looked at each other.
Are you trying to tell us we sent you the message? Jean-Pierre asked. Im completely confused.
You just cant see everything, Dandin smiled. Come on up, and I will try to explain.
Van was the first one to board the ship, but before he did so he bowed down to the ground again. The doctor and then everyone else climbed aboard. The chariot was not pulled by strange beasts, nor did it have an engine or any semblance of machinery. Just a smooth surface, like a platter with sides. Everyone fit freely, the ship was big enough.
As soon as the last passenger from Earth climbed into the chariot, the ladder pulled into the base of the ship, and it began to rise slowly.
The hum began to build again, and the soaring castle-island moved on. Everyone looked down at the huge beam of light penetrating the surface of the Sun all the way to the core, leaving not a scar on it. It pierced the surface of the star, and from it diverged circles of fiery power in different directions. Orange mixed with red and yellow. The surface absorbed this energy without a trace, it spread out in heat in all directions and shone with a calming light into the darkness of the impenetrable cosmos.
The ship rose above the edge of a floating island, the pillar of fire disappearing beneath the smooth surface of the city streets. The travelers had a view of the beautiful city. The higher they climbed, the more they realized that the island held thousands of houses and streets. Many yellow towers and domes densely clustered on the smooth surface of the floating block. The city shone with many amazing details and jewels. There were small and large multi-storey buildings, columns, arches and intricate aqueducts. The material that shone on all the buildings was, without exception, a bright yellow color. It resembled the surface of a planet, but it did not melt before ones eyes, it was frozen and nobly soothed. Translucent stones of varying size and color were visible everywhere. Some were green, others red or blue, and all were shining with a pleasant light.
Is your king expecting us? Jean-Pierre inquired casually. Did he say by any chance what for?
Yes, he wants to see you, Dandin smiled, but you should answer by yourself for what. It is you who have come to see us.
Bhrigu sent them here, Van said timidly.
Dandin turned to Van with a raised eyebrow.
Bhrigu the rishi? Dandin hesitated.
I have a feeling that everyone knows this Bhrigu, Jean-Pierre added grudgingly.
Everyone here knows him, Dandin was still deep in thought, he is a relative of our Emperor, and you come from the Earth, Dandin seemed to have made a discovery.
Of course, from where else? Jean-Pierre held up his hands, he was completely confused.
Maybe at least the relative of this Bhrigu can explain why he sent us here, said David to himself, shaking his head.
From the Earth, Dandin repeated with a little excitement.
He looked around at the earthlings, stopped his gaze on Yulia and froze. His eyes suddenly darkened, and his face went limp. His breathing became labored, and he blinked rapidly. The flying ship rocked and hit one of the tall buildings. Everyone was thrown to the left side, the ship flew rapidly downward. Only Van remained suspended in midair. The earthlings and Dandin dived downwards. There was a general shout.
The ship fell just outside one of the walls of the main palace. A hole was left in the wall and several jewels fell out of the loopholes. Everyone lay at the bottom of the golden vessel and tried to recover from the unexpected incident.
Dr Capri groped himself and looked around at the others.
Are you all right?
Oh, David rolled onto his back. I think Im okay.
Everyone started to rise to their feet. Yulia suddenly noticed a red translucent stone, almost the size of her fist, in front of her, and automatically reached out for it. It glowed from within, but was cool to the touch. She looked up and realized that it had fallen from the wall: every half meter along the top edge of the palace wall, similar crystals glittered.
What was that? Jean-Pierre shouted.
Dandin shamefully shrunk his eyes and said quietly:
There are no women here. I am sorry.
How old are you? Jean-Pierre wondered. Didnt a woman give birth to you?
Dandin looked at him with tears in his eyes, and Jean-Pierre immediately fell silent. He was surprised and backed away, not expecting such a demonstration of emotion. All right, all right, Jean-Pierre repeated, waving back and checking on how the others were feeling.
The important thing is that everyone is alive, Debby said, defusing the situation.
A worried Van came down from above:
Are you all right?
Help us to get to the Emperors quarters, Dandin asked, still lowering his gaze. We will have to walk from here.
Oh yes, Van said, lets go. Come with me.
Jean-Pierre hummed, clapped Dandin on the shoulder and followed Van. The doctor looked at Dandin with compassion. David signaled for everyone to go forward and walked over to Dandin himself. Yulia and Debby joined Van and Jean-Pierre. The Sun dwellers face was still flaming with shame.
Dont worry, said David, in our world women do the same to us. You know how many times Ive blushed in my life, David laughed.
Dandin looked up with a smile.
Thank you, he accepted Davids words.
The doctor turned to him. He decided to distract the young man with questions about the world they were now in. They followed the others.
What effect do women have on you?
They Dandin searched for the right words, I dont know, its like Ive lost air. Like I was melting.
I thought you were all made out of fire, David said.
Not as you thought, Dandin said, even more cheerfully. Higher the world finer the bodies.
Is the Sun higher than the Earth? David asked in surprise.
Yes and no, Dandin smiled. The Sun is thinner. We can see you, even if it is difficult, you cannot see us. Your eyesight is different.
What do you mean by different? Dr Capri clarified.
You see mainly reflected light, we see what is the source of light.
Dr Capri thought for a moment as he looked at the palace beyond the wall. The travelers, led by the soaring Van, walked parallel to the high fence, behind which was the kings dwelling. On the other side of the road, the buildings were piled on top of each other. Narrow streets spread out from the main street in small streams. The doctor noticed that the color of the material used to make the roads and buildings changed: waves of energy spread out from the palace, making the color of everything around it brighter. It was as if the city was breathing with energy emanating from the center. The city looked alive, but there was no one in the streets or in the windows of the houses.
If everything is so beautiful here, David asked in a more serious tone, why did you kick Van out when he became sad?
It is not like that. Life here lasts for millions of your earthly years: no one has to work, no reason to be sad but the soul also sounds in its own way here and strives for something, Dandin raised his hands and started pointing at the city around him. Imagine you have no reason to suffer. There is all the food you can eat, all the time you have to rest, what would you want?
David and Dr Capri pondered. David looked at the doctor and shrugged: