**********
Awakening, Jared sat up, wiped water off his face, and then ran his fingers through his hair. It was wet. His clothes were damp, too.
“What happened?” he asked as Danielle and Paul helped him to his feet. “And, why am I...” he noticed that everyone else was wet, too, “uh—why are we wet?”
Paul said in one breath, “The thiguts were biting you, but since they can’t stand water, the downpour washed them away.”
Jared, still a little woozy, repeated back what Paul said, trying to understand. “So, there was a storm that washed the thiguts off me?”
Paul said, “Yeah. It was a downpour.”
Jared looked around. The ground looked dry, and the sun blazed overhead. “It rained?” Why isn’t the ground wet? Maybe it’s because we’re in a simulation. But, that didn’t make sense because everything else so far had been realistic.
Paul nodded. “Yep.”
Weird. Jared looked down around him again. He was surprised to see that his pants were almost dry. Really weird. It was so hot and dry on Tirum that apparently the water evaporated extra fast. No wonder this planet’s a desert.
Jared bent over and pulled up one of his pant legs. There were no thigut bite marks on his legs, and the stinging was gone. “So, I’m okay then?”
“Yes.” Rohlwig stepped forward with an apologetic expression. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t fast enough. You jumped into the river bed before I could warn you. I should have been paying more attention.”
Jared accepted Rohlwig’s apology. “That’s alright. It was an accident.” He shrugged and let his sense of humor come out in an attempt to make Rohlwig not feel so guilty. “I needed a rest anyway.”
Rohlwig laughed. “Yep. Just like your dad.” He patted Jared on the shoulder and then quickly changed the subject. “Well, we better get back to worrying about reaching that cave on time.”
Rohlwig stepped around Jared, Paul, and Danielle and then jumped down into the ravine.
Jared cried out, “Wait!”
“Don’t worry.” Rohlwig signaled them to follow. “We can cross while the sand below the surface is still wet. But, let’s hurry. Although the thiguts have burrowed down deep into the ground to avoid the rain, they’ll resurface once the ground completely dries out. And here on Tirum, that won’t take very long.”
Danielle and Paul stepped into the ravine, but Jared hesitated. The sting of the thiguts was still fresh in his mind.
Rohlwig motioned for Jared to follow. “Come on, Jared. We only have about six more hours.”
Jared took a deep breath and held it as he hesitantly stepped down into the ravine. So far, so good.
Still worried, Jared hurried over to the group and kept moving past them, across the soft sand of the drying river bed. He was the first person to the other side and waited for Rohlwig so that he could ask him some questions about the simulation.
Once everyone was across, Danielle said to Rohlwig, apparently referring to a conversation she and Paul must’ve had with Rohlwig while Jared was unconscious, “Not that I’m not glad he’s okay, but I thought you said that water repelled thiguts, not that it cured the victim. So, how come he’s alright now?”
Jared looked at Rohlwig, realizing that, if the rain hadn’t washed away the thiguts, he’d probably still be unconscious, or worse. Why doesn’t Rohlwig seem concerned about that?
Rohlwig held up a finger. “Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that the effects are reversible within a certain length of time. You see, as powerful as the virus is, the thiguts weren’t on their host long enough to permanently infect him.”
Jared interrupted, wanting to know just how sick the thigut virus could have made him. “And, what if there wouldn’t have been a storm? What would’ve happened to me?”
“You would’ve died,” Rohlwig said a little too casually for Jared’s liking. However, he quickly added, “But, I knew there was going to be a storm that would wash them away. The rains come at predictable intervals.”
Rohlwig looked down at the ground and kicked a pebble to the side. “In fact, my plan was to time it so that we would arrive at the wash just before or during the rain storm and then cross without a problem. However, we got here a little,” he held up his thumb and index finger close together and squinted one eye, “too early.”
He looked at Jared. “I’m sorry you had to experience thigut bites.”
To let Rohlwig know it wasn’t a big deal, Jared said, “Don’t worry about it. Look on the bright side.”
Rohlwig raised his eyebrows with interest. “The bright side?”
“Yeah. I learned something new. Now I know what a thigut is.” Jared smiled.
Rohlwig smiled back and shook his head. “There you go again. You’re a funny kid.” He motioned with his hands for them to keep walking. “Well, let’s get going.” Still shaking his head, he mumbled, “One funny kid.”
As Jared began walking, something occurred to him about dying. But, how could that be? This is a simulation.
Jared would have to wait to ask his question, though, because Danielle began speaking to Rohlwig, who was behind the youths. “Rohlwig, I was wondering something.”
“Yes?”
“You knew the thiguts weren’t going to be a problem. But, why would they be able to kill Jared? This is just a simulation, right?” Danielle threw a quick glance back over her shoulder at Rohlwig.
That’s exactly what I want to know. Jared looked back at Rohlwig.
Rohlwig nodded. “I’m glad you asked that. Let me explain something. Everything you experience in this simulation is real. So, you can die for real.”
Jared didn’t like the sound of that. “But, what if something happens that you didn’t think of? Like, what if I fall off the mountain or something? You could just stop the simulation, right?” He and Rohlwig were walking side by side by that point.
“Truthfully, I can’t. It’s set to run a pre-determined length or outcome.” Rohlwig joked, “So, my advice to you is don’t fall off the mountain.” He patted Jared on the shoulder.
“Not very comforting,” Jared remarked.
Rohlwig explained, “No, I suppose not. But, we’re in what I call a ‘real simulation.’”
Paul said, “That sounds like a bit of a contradiction.”
“I know. You’re right. It does seem like a bit of an oxymoron. So, is it real or simulated?” Rohlwig smiled. “Well, as I already said, the simulation uses real matter that has been disguised—if you will—to take on the characteristics of the landscape of Tirum. But, on the other hand, this is still a simulation because it is, after all, a program. We aren’t really on Tirum.”
“Why does it have to be so real?” Paul asked.
“It’s more fun that way.” Rohlwig grinned.
Paul didn’t laugh. “No, really.”
Jared wanted a straight answer, too.
“Okay okay.” Rohlwig held up his hands. “Would you rather practice Diestro in an unrealistic setting, where everything is controlled—like in a classroom?” Before anyone could answer, he said, “No. What kind of training would that be?” Again he answered his own question. “I’ll tell you what kind: the bad kind. It’s much better to learn and practice your skills in a real life setting, or in this case, as close to real life as I can make them.”
Jared nodded. I can accept that. “So, what other things should we look out for?”
“I can’t tell you that.” Rohlwig held up his index finger and waved it side to side. “This is after all a test. And, I have to maintain the integrity of the test.”
Jared nodded. “I suppose so.”
Rohlwig added, “But, don’t worry. Just pay attention and do as I say, and you’ll do fine.”
“Okay.” Jared decided he could trust Rohlwig since he was a Master and had trained other Masters. He must know what he’s doing.
Jared and the others continued trudging up toward the base of the mountain in the scorching heat of the harsh desert planet.
To help pass the time, Jared, Danielle, Paul, and Rohlwig made small talk about whatever they could think of.
After another hour of hiking, they reached a steep incline at the base of the mountain. Then, as Jared looked around to see where the trail leading up the mountain was, something caught his attention. There was an oasis up and to the left a short distance away.
“How come we didn’t see that earlier?” Danielle asked, pointing in the direction of the oasis.
Jared blinked hard several times and rubbed his eyes to make sure it wasn’t a mirage.
“Well, it wasn’t there before; that’s why we didn’t see it. But, since it’s there now, let’s go and rest for a little while.” Rohlwig pointed toward the oasis. “It’ll be a nice break from the heat.”
Jared began hiking toward it, anxious to sit in the shade and drink some water. The others were right behind him.
It only took Jared a few minutes to reach the oasis, and when he did, he stopped and smiled. “Water.”
Paul passed him and knelt down at the edge of a pond of clear, blue water.
Rohlwig said. “Drink all you like. But remember, we must be off soon.”
More interested in the water than what Rohlwig said, Jared barely acknowledged that he had even heard Rohlwig say something by slightly nodding his head. He knelt down next to Paul, plunged his cupped hands into the pond, and then indulged himself in big slurps of the cool, refreshing water.
After Jared, Danielle, and Paul had their fill of water, almost as if on cue, all three of them lay back to rest on the grass.
Jared looked up at the big tree shading him. He noticed that the trunk was made up of several smaller trunks, which wove together, untwisted, then spread out into branches with broad, rounded leaves that created a nice barrier from the rays of the sun.
Jared let out a long sigh. “Ahhh.”
“It sure is a lot cooler under here,” Danielle commented.
Rohlwig said, “You know what? It’s very coincidental that we should come across this oasis because it moves frequently. That’s why we didn’t see it earlier. It just appears out of nowhere, randomly, across this desert. Anyway, we should probably get going.”
Jared stretched. He heard what Rohlwig said, but he wasn’t anxious to get up. “Just a little bit longer.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.” Rohlwig sounded more urgent this time.
However, Jared barely stirred. It wasn’t until about a half a minute later, when Jared noticed that the scenery outside of the oasis had suddenly changed, that he sat up. Bleeding Mountain was still in front of him but looked totally different. What the...
Rohlwig said with urgency, “Quick, get up.”
Jared jumped to his feet.
“The oasis has moved.” Rohlwig pointed straight ahead. “We’re on the back side of the mountain.”
Jared could have kicked himself for not getting out of the oasis sooner. It could be worse, though; we could be on the other side of the desert. Jared tried to make their mistake not seem so bad. “But, that’s not so bad. We’re still at the base of the mountain, right?”
“True,” Rohlwig said. (Jared felt a ‘but’ coming.) “But, the terrain on the backside of the mountain is more dangerous because the slope is steeper and prone to rock slides.” He shrugged. “We’ll just have to go up this way. There’s no way we can make it to the cave before sunset if we try to go around the mountain.” He started to leave. “Come on. We better get climbing.”
As Jared, Paul, and Danielle followed Rohlwig out of the comfort of the oasis, Rohlwig pointed them toward a crevice leading up the mountain. As they proceeded into the large fracture, the gravel and rock beneath Jared’s feet shifted.
Rohlwig caught Jared by the arm. “Be careful. This ground’s not very stable. Stay close to the wall.”
When they were about three hours into their climb, Jared, who was in the lead, took a step, and a sizeable rock was loosened. He gasped as he watched it roll down the slope. There was no time to call out. Luckily, Paul moved just in time to avoid being struck.
“Sorry.” After Jared offered the apology, however, he thought it sounded pathetic because he realized that Paul could have been seriously hurt by that rock. I’ll have to be more careful.
As Jared progressed up the steep mountainside, there came a time when he seemed to be going almost straight up. It would’ve been an understatement to say that the climb was difficult. This is definitely no oasis.
With only about an hour left until sundown, they all reached the uphill end of the crevice. But, Jared saw that they would have to scale a pile of large boulders to get out. By that point, he was already exhausted, so just the sight of those huge rocks made his muscles ache even more. He didn’t know if he could make it, but he somehow found the strength to keep going.
When Jared did finally reach the top of the pile of boulders, he was dusty and sweaty, and the tips of his fingers and palms were scraped up from the roughness of the rocks. He was glad the grueling climb out of the crevice was over.
However, the relief was short-lived. Jared saw the steep mountainside that still lay before him. He was exhausted, and sweat was pouring down his face. It’s so hot on Tirum. Realism is fine, but you’d think Rohlwig could have turned down the heat, even just a little bit, when programming the simulation.
Jared dropped down onto all fours and then onto his back, out of breath, and moaned. He looked up at Rohlwig, who didn’t appear to be tired at all.
Rohlwig looked around. “Fortunately, we don’t have to go straight up the mountain anymore, but we really must keep going.” He pointed up the mountain to the right. “We’ll go that way, then cut back the other way.” He pointed up the mountain to the left. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Jared groaned as he struggled to get to his feet and then managed to start dragging himself up the mountain. I’ve come this far. Might as well go all the way.
After a few steps, he became more determined to get to the top and began to focus on just taking one step at a time—putting everything else out of his thoughts. He kept his eyes on Rohlwig and just kept walking. He didn’t even think about whether or not Paul and Danielle were keeping up.
Jared was pleasantly surprised when, about 30 minutes later, Rohlwig said, “Ten more minutes, and we’ll be over the top.”
His words gave Jared a little extra strength. And, it looks like we’ll make it before sunset.
When they reached the peak, Danielle asked, out of breath, “Now where?”
“Down there,” Rohlwig said, pointing down and to the right. “Come on. It’ll be a little easier going downhill.” He started down. “Hurry. It’s almost sunset. Come on. You can do it. Don’t give up.”
After climbing—and slipping a lot—down the steep, rocky mountain, Rohlwig pointed to the right and called out to them, “That way to the cave.”
As the group moved along the face of the mountain, the slope became less steep.
Soon, Jared saw their objective. “The cave!” He started pointing excitedly but then stopped when Rohlwig turned around. He wasn’t smiling. Jared then saw what Rohlwig had obviously already noticed: the sun was almost touching the horizon.
“Run!” Rohlwig shouted, still looking at the sun but pointing to the cave.
Jared bolted toward the entrance of the cave.
When he reached it, Rohlwig said, “Inside.”
Jared stepped into the cave, not going too far in because it was dark. Paul and Danielle entered the cave right after him.
Jared sat on the ground with his knees near his chest and his folded arms resting on his legs. Paul and Danielle, who were breathing just as hard and looked just as worn out as he was, sat down next to him.
Rohlwig walked into the cave just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. “We made it. Good job.” He sat down on the ground next to Paul.
After Rohlwig sat down, the cave’s cool air got warmer as the pink and orange sky quickly turned a darker sh
ade.
Jared thought that was strange. Shouldn’t it be cooling off now?
At that moment, the sky turned black, and a blast of frigid air outside of the cave left the desert frozen solid in a split second. Jared’s jaw dropped.
“That’s why we needed to get in here before sunset,” Rohlwig said. “Otherwise, we would’ve been frozen solid.” He joked, “Some say that’s a good way to preserve yourself, but the thawing part is a bit iffy in my view.”
Jared wasn’t sure whether to laugh or strangle Rohlwig.
Danielle asked Rohlwig exactly what Jared was thinking, “At the beginning of the simulation, why didn’t you just tell us we’d become popsicles? We probably wouldn’t have stayed so long in that oasis.”
Rohlwig said, “Really? Granted, I didn’t tell you explicitly what would happen at sunset, but my instructions should have been enough. I told you to stay alert and listen to me. However, you got too comfortable in the oasis and didn’t listen when I said we should go.”
Jared could tell that Rohlwig was disappointed, and he started to get the idea that there was more to the simulation than just being a timed hiking test. “So, the simulation wasn’t just a test to see if we could make it to this cave, was it?”
Rohlwig shook his head. “Nope.” He held up a finger as he made each of his points. “First of all, I wanted to walk and talk with you to get to know you and see how you got along. Second, I wanted you to learn to be aware of your surroundings and not get too distracted. Third, I wanted to see how you dealt with the unexpected. Fourth, I wanted to see how well you followed my directions. And fifth, I wanted you to work hard at something and succeed.
“Learning our technology isn’t always as easy as sitting in a classroom. It takes hard work to strengthen your character and master Amatay and Diestro.”
Easy? Jared thought Ferran’s lessons had been challenging, but he was pretty sure he understood what Rohlwig was saying. It was easy because Jared had been sitting on a cushy chair every day, listening to Ferran, and looking at a laptop to learn those things.
Danielle frowned. “It sounds like we didn’t do very well on the test.”
Rohlwig stood up. “Oh, quite the contrary. You passed with flying colors. And, now I can honestly say it will be a pleasure to train you.” He took a deep bow as if honoring Jared, Paul, and Danielle.
Jared felt a little uncomfortable, but the act of admiration increased Jared’s respect for Rohlwig.
Suddenly, the four of them were back inside the arena on the moon where Rohlwig lived.
“Well,” Rohlwig held his arms out to his sides and then dropped them, “that’s the end of the simulation.” He turned to leave. “Come with me. I’ll show you to your rooms.”