CHAPTER 46
THE SLEEPER AWAKES
Never give in, Never give in, Never give in, Never, Never, Never, Never.
- Winston Churchill
With the Ca' Ra gone, for the moment there was only one thing on the minds of the Team: their fallen friends.
Pru rushed to where Gus and Mel had fallen, and found the spare physicist bent sobbing over the still, prone form of his old friend Augustus. The remains of the little old biologist could scarcely be recognized as human, as most clothing, hair, skin, and underlying flesh was completely burnt away. Already the horrid stench of burnt human flesh hung heavy in the still, humid jungle air.
"Did you see that stubborn old coot?" sobbed Mel. "He jumped right in front of me and took the blast! Can you help him, Pru?”
Pru lowered her horn to gently touch the blackened figure, but lifted the glowing spike away after only a moment and shook her head solemnly. "I am sorry, but this fallen hero is lost to eternity. Great are my powers, Mel Guthery, but they do not include raising the dead.” But she lowered her head again, this time to touch the blue-glowing horn that was the focus of her immense powers to Mel's shoulder. "You are another matter Mel Guthery."
Indeed, the little physicist was himself in shock and actually shivering despite the jungle heat. Though Gus had blocked most of the weakened plasma blast and paid full measure, burns of all degrees still covered half of Mel's body, underneath the smoldering rags that hung from his thin form. Even as Pru began her efforts to treat him, the stricken scientist sank weakly to ground in shock with a sigh, next to the body of his dead friend.
Mel wasn't the only wounded hero. None of the Team present totally escaped injury, but of the four human apprentice Guardians only Don was seriously injured. Bates knelt next to his unconscious son Don, along with Elizabeth, Janet, and a mournful Milo. Don's breathing was shallow and labored, and several of his broken limb bones protruded out through torn, bleeding flesh.
Bates held his hands on the young man's head and chest, with his tear-filled eyes closed in deep concentration. He could actually feel the trembling, weakening life of his son; his pain, and his terror. He felt too that he might have the power to help, but he didn't know how! It wasn't fair. He had known his son for less than a week. Would he be taken away so soon?
"He's in shock," said Janet.
"We need Pru!” said Bates. "Pru?"
Pru was a few meters away, still bent over Mel. "There are too many for me alone, human," the white unicorn pathed. "You also must help!”
Bates looked around. Mel, Wink, Krog, Oscar, and Don were definitely very badly hurt, and Winnebago was down also! They could all be dead or dying right now! Pru was right. "But I don't know how! Show me!”
"I'll help you, Bates," said the suddenly present Johnny Goth. "My mother is much better at healing than I am, but I can quickly get you started. Then you will help Pru effectively."
"Mostly you must teach yourself," pathed Johnny. "It is easiest to start with your own body. Heal yourself first and you will be strong and able to heal others.”
Bates looked at his own hands. They were a mess. They were both bruised, bloodied, and skinned, and multiply fractured, in part from hopelessly beating on the steel-reinforced cyborg body of Renson, and, he suddenly realized, they were quite painful. His feet were similarly sore. There were strains and sprains and bruises all over his body! He felt his neck, and realized that there he was terribly bruised, strained, sprained, and whatever! His chest ached most of all; probably he had cracked or broken ribs and ruptured internal organs. Yes, he too had very serious injuries. Even fatal ones perhaps, if left untreated.
"I could heal you myself," pathed Johnny, "but then you would not learn how to do it."
If friends and family members weren't dying around him, and the Earth wasn't due to be destroyed in a day and a half, and he wasn't personally on the hook to save it, Bates might have preferably took a couple of months off from everything else to lounge around a hospital or his apartment and recover the old fashioned way, but he realized that he didn't have that option. He had to learn human body repair immediately.
"But Don could die while I'm working on myself!" protested Bates.
"I'll watch him and make sure that doesn't happen," assured Johnny.
Bates looked at Janet and Elizabeth, who clearly were expecting him to perform another feat of 'magic' that would help Don. They were both staring back at him. "We heard Pru and Johnny too," pathed Janet. "You can do it Narb! Physician heal thyself."
"Do it, Daddy," pathed Elizabeth. "We'll try to stay with you, then maybe Mom and I can learn how to help too.” Janet and Elizabeth moved closer to Bates and each took one of his hands in their own. Johnny stood above them, with his hands on the shoulders of the Team leader. Bates immediately felt Janet's familiar presence, and Elizabeth's similar but different one also, as well as the stronger psychic presence of Johnny Goth.
"Close your eyes and open your mind to see yourself," pathed Johnny.
Bates closed his eyes and other 'normal' senses to the outside world and opened his mind to his body.
"Good," pathed Johnny. "Now look inside yourself. Move your conscious self through your body, and see how it works and what is broken that needs fixed."
Bates first let his conciseness wander through his body slowly, on a sort of inspection run. Initially, it was like stumbling blindly through a pitch dark forest. Then he began to perceive things; dimly, as if finding that a dark forest is only in near darkness, and that nearby trees and grass can be seen dimly in the moonlight after all, and that by paying attention to the intricate sounds of night life, the gentle touch of webs and breezes, and other things usually ignored in the glare of day, there is a whole new world to explore. Only this wasn't a forest, it was an even more complex and wondrous place: his own body!
He wasn't using any of his 'normal' external perceptive senses, this was something as new and different as telepathy. He also took note that he was not alone, but that Janet and Elizabeth were there with him. Johnny was there also, a nearby and closely watching presence.
"Learn how your body works, Bates," instructed Johnny. Together, they could actually sense the different parts of his body as he focused on them. He noted what he interpreted to be consumption of food and oxygen, growth, sensation, and dozens of other things! It was all there for the trio to 'see' and learn!
Beyond that, there was generally a feeling of 'rightness' of structure and function that he couldn't attach any scientific notion to, and a feeling of 'wrongness' in certain places. He could somehow tell when things were damaged and not as they should be, and he could also sense corrective processes within him that were slowly trying to set things right.
"Yes, it is those natural healing processes that you need to nurture and strengthen," coached Johnny. "Through your will, help your body heal itself. Your body and subconscious mechanisms know what to do, you just need to help them."
Sped by his conscious encouragement, the 'right' pattern for his body began to rapidly heal and re-assert itself. Gradually, the 'wrongness' began to subside. He then showed what he learned to Janet and Elizabeth. Janet could do it, though not nearly as well as he could, but Elizabeth was quickly able to match her father's skill.
For several minutes, the trio roamed Bates' body, patching it up as they went. As they did so, their skills greatly improved. Gradually, they found that they could address larger and larger areas, until at last they were applying their new-found skill to the entire Narbando T. Bates entity.
"That will do it for now, thank you," pathed Bates at last. He looked at and flexed his hands. They were still bloodied and dirty, but underneath that, they felt perfectly whole and well again, as did the rest of him!
"That's all there is too it," said Johnny. "But now I need to return to help Dooley, There are still thousands of nanobot colonies to deal with. Good luck!" At that Johnny flew away.
The Bates-led healing trio turned quickly to Don. He looked horr
ible; his pulse and respiration were weak, and his skin seemed to have a bluish tinge to it. Bates didn't know exactly what that meant, but he figured that it couldn't be good.
Placing their hands on Don, they all concentrated. It took a few minutes to 'know' their new patient, but then things proceeded rapidly. After only a few more minutes, they could all sense that the emergency was past. Don would live!
"Narb," pathed Janet, "Elizabeth and I can finish with Don from here. You better help Pru with the others."
Bates withdrew from Don and opened his eyes. He was relieved to find that even using only his normal senses, he could tell that Don was improving. The young man was breathing normally, his color had improved, and his limbs looked whole again. Looking around, he saw that Pru was applying her horn to Wink. Krog has sitting up and holding his head with one huge hand, so he was apparently also recovering. Winnebago was actually standing up, limping about, and cursing brilliantly in Brooklynese, showing a promising return to his old form.
Oscar however, lay moaning softly, perhaps because Milo was licking his face, but more probably because he was in intense pain. Bates went to him and laid his hands on his heaving chest. The big biologist seemed to have only a broken jaw and serious concussion. No problem! In a few minutes Oscar was recovered enough to join Mel and Bates in grieving for Gus.
Yet they also knew that they had to proceed with the mission. The survivors first thought to simply bury Gus in the trench blasted by Renson, but Pru insisted on a ceremony of The People. After all, Gus had spent his last years with Pru and the others of The Land. After both Oscar and Pru said a few words about their departed friend, the gathered company watched as what remained of Augustus McGregor slowly sank under the ground and out of sight. Bates, with his new senses, found that he could 'see' and recognize how the unicorn lowered Gus through the ground. It was essentially Goyahkla's 'soap trick' yet again; the same thing that saved his skin when Renson grabbed him!
Perhaps, thought Bates, it was appropriate that the life-loving old Biologist was laid to rest in this jungle, with thriving life all around. Then he remembered that in a day and a half, this entire area would be pulverized to atoms by Dannos. On the other hand, what if he were to stay here and use the soap trick on the gravesite area? Wouldn't the comet pass right through this patch of Earth without touching it? No, he figured that it still wouldn't work, because the surrounding area would still be pulverized.
"HOLY SHIT!” shouted Bates. He started jumping up and down. It was not very appropriate language or demeanor for a funeral, and most of the others looked at him like he was crazy. "I've got it! I've got it! It's NUTS! It might just work! JESUS H. FARK-ING FUDGE WINKIE CHE-RIST!” He started doing his stupid little funky chicken dance, and became so excited that he was totally incoherent.
Some of the Team were staring at him awkwardly in embarrassment, figuring that the man was beyond all hope, but his closest friends recognized this display to be normal Bates behavior when he had a fantastic brain-storm, and judging from the extent of the display this was one hell of a brain storm!
"OK Bates," said Oscar, holding Bates still by the shoulders with his huge powerful hands. "Calm down and tell us your idea."
"Dannos! We'll soap it! We'll McGregor it!” sputtered Bates excitedly. The others stared at him blankly. "You know! We make it insubstantial like Goyahkla's Zest, or like Pru did to Gus just now, and I did with Renson! It's the soap trick! Here, I'll show you! Observe!” Bates found a fist sized rock, which was not in itself a simple thing to do in a place where everything is covered with vines, roots, and black soil teeming with insects, worms, and other yucky creatures. At first he held out the rock in his hand, but immediately it levitated up into the air where it hung suspended about twenty feet above him. After a few moments, it fell straight for his head! A couple of people cried out in fear for Bates, and a few actually lunged towards him as if to deflect the heavy rock, but they were all too late, and the rock fell right into Bates. And through Bates! And into the ground, disappearing! Bates stood smiling. "Ta-daa! See! If we can do the same thing for Dannos, we're home-free!”
The others weren't smiling. "Bates," said Mel, "we understand what you're suggesting, and it's a marvelous idea, but that was a one-kilogram rock, traveling at a few meters per second. Dannos is about ten million billion kilograms of iron moving at about fifty kilometers per second. As much as we are amazed by your powers, Bates, I for one question your ability to handle Dannos like you did that rock!”
Bates' smile faded. Mel was right. A million Narbandos probably couldn't do the job! ”Fudge Winkies, you're right Mel! Why, it would take a mind of fantastic power to pull it off!”
"Speaking of minds of fantastic power, Bates," asked Mel, "why haven't we been going bonkers from the Great One lately? While battling Renson and healing us you and Pru haven't also been shielding us, have you? So why haven’t we all gone bonkers?"
"No, of course we weren't shielding anyone," responded Bates, taken aback. "I totally forgot, and Pru's been busy with other things too! I hadn't even noticed the mental silence. So then, the Great One is perfectly quiet. What can that mean?"
The discussion was suddenly interrupted by Pru. "All must stand close to me, so that I may shield you better!” she shouted in alarm.
Everyone moved closer to the glowing white unicorn. Meanwhile, the ground was beginning to tremble and heave, as though the Earth itself were awakening. "What is it, Pru?" asked Bates. "An Earthquake?"
"The Great One is awake, that is why our shielding has not been needed! But he now stirs his great body, and reaches out with thought!” replied Pru. "Get close to me everyone; I must focus on a mighty shield for us!”
They held on to each other tightly, as much for reassurance as to steady themselves physically, as the Earth shook more and more violently. Without Pru firmly anchoring them, by now they would have probably all been tumbling and bumping about the jungle like arcade pinballs.
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