The departure could be the happiest moment of my life. I’m a scientist and explorer and I haven’t explored anything yet. They did send all the unknown artefacts to my lab, but I rarely went outside. My curiosity was getting unbearable. What are the inexplicable objects found in our territory? I set out on small expeditions that were never enough for my research. I never got far enough to answer the question I kept asking myself more and more often.

Where did we come from? How did our species come into existence? What was at the beginning of our existence? Our history is short. We can positively describe only several centuries in the past. Yet nobody cares about the past too much. Everyone looks ahead, to the future. They want to build and conquer, expand and improve. I have nothing against progress; after all, I use the most modern equipment in my lab. But it seems to me that every building must have solid foundations. In this case, the fundamental questions are: When and where did it all begin? And why? What is our purpose? I hope we can find at least a hint, if not an answer. Our community is sending us on the first research expedition. We are historically the first team to go beyond the Great Wall. No one has been so far. There is a general belief that there is nothing beyond the Wall. And our civilization wants to occupy the “nothing”.

“Something” isn’t enough anymore.

For the expedition, Meriwether was assigned to me. He is programmed as a bold, fearless traveller. He hasn’t been anywhere yet, but his reputation precedes him. Honestly, he’ll be a valuable team member on our journey. Despite my determination, I’m not one of those who are considered brave.

They think I’m a sober, quiet and thoughtful scientist. Even a fearful one – why should I not admit it? Meriwether should be the opposite. I look forward to the Wall with a great hope, but also with great concern. Something quite unknown and unexplored is awaiting us. Anything can be behind the Wall – things that that no one has seen and described before, that don’t have a name yet. As a scientist, I’m logically excited. But as William, I’m a little scared. In the lab, I’ve seen things that certainly haven’t been made by our civilization.

Our primary goal is to explore and map unknown territories, to find out if they are suitable for further settlement, to get as far as possible, to fight whatever comes our way and bring back samples for further investigation. The second task is to find the traces of our origin.

William

(The one with the cape)

 

After we left the Wall, we travelled for a long time, so long we lost track of the time. I only noticed the surfaces. According to the illustrated definitions found in Doc, we went through a desert, a savannah, and a dense forest. The forest seems to be the prevailing environment near the Wall. So far, we have enough of everything we need: fuel and enthusiasm. But on the edge of the forest, we encountered the first insurmountable obstacle.

It is water in quantities we haven’t seen before: its flow rate is the respectable 200,000 cubic meters per second. I named the water after my favourite technical equipment store – the Amazon. I’m a little pleased that Meriwether is at his wits’ here as well. A felled tree wasn’t enough to build a bridge over the water, and we can jump only 8.95 meters. We don’t even know if the contact with water won’t be fatal for our construction.

Meriwether decided to take a brave step: to step into the water. His indicators don’t report any damage and he encourages me to follow him. I still hesitate. According to my experience, my exterior is much more sensitive. My fellow scientists say this is nonsense and I’m making it up. But rust could jeopardize our mission from the start. I don’t underestimate the old saying: “Tuning takes two”. Even a scientific expedition needs at least two members.

We crossed the Amazon without difficulty. But we were surprised by what we found underwater: lots of new species for which water is a completely natural environment. They show no signs of corrosion. They move smoothly without any visible joints as if their construction was made of one piece. Their fuel may be a synthetic material because one of them tried to eat my cape. I didn’t have time for a detailed analysis.

I urged Meriwether to stay and explore the Amazon. But my companion insisted we should dry out to prevent destruction. I wisely abandoned my idea to avoid conflict. On land, I saw the same species we saw underwater, so it’s possible it’s an amphibian that can live in both the elements – this improvement would be a convenient upgrade for our civilization.

We spent the night by sending reports. The signal is already very weak and forests will interrupt the connection completely. I sincerely look forward to this kind of liberation. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ll feel free. Our level of technical advancement has many positives, but I don’t like the constant sharing of information. At home, sharing unnecessary data causes overload I’ll be glad to relax of.

I can feel certain wear and tear. It’s probably caused by too much experience my programme needs to process. Meriwether seems to be full of energy. I don’t want to be disrespectful, but he doesn’t take in as many stimuli as I do. That’s why his battery gets discharged much slower. It seems that our factory hardware is different more than I thought. But I don’t feel inferior. Each of us has different strengths.

I found an unexpected source of energy. The vision of another uncharted territory literally charges me. Meriwether is boldly dashing forward, as if his cloak was attracted by a magnet. I’m trying to be at his heels, which is no problem, given the fact that the shadows in the forest get longer. Sometimes I see things in them I’d rather not see. I’m trying to persuade myself I’m a hero. But then I feel ashamed. Heroes don’t wear capes.

We stopped at a surprisingly huge tree. It could be hugged by five robots – or one robot with telescopic arms. I see that Meriwether is getting more interested in things around him. That’s good news. Regardless of the factory settings, he can interrupt his programme when he has a strong motivation. I hope the “more scientific” Meriwether won’t be a wimp like me. Ha ha. Ha ha. Eh.

I realized that the huge trees must have deep roots to achieve the necessary stability. If robots were ten times bigger – which is a ridiculous idea –, they would need tenfold bigger foot extensions. Otherwise they would collapse. I wonder how long the roots of this specimen are. Unfortunately, our devices aren’t able to measure them. We’re going to climb a hill with a remarkable ledge.

We’ve found out that the world is much older than thought. According to our measurement, the tree in front of us is 9,550 years old. The second trunk is about eight minutes younger. It’s the first major discovery of our expedition. Yet it’s not a special, evolution proven and unique species of tree, but the common spruce. These two spruce trees look like me and Meriwether. Forced to be together, they try to avoid each other, but together, they survive in good and bad.

List of samples:

1. Polyvinyl chloride symmetrical blocks
2. Hollow elliptical items of unknown purpose
3. Formations with mineralized structures
4. A flat cylinder made of vulcanized rubber
5. Photosynthetic materials sensitive to carbon dioxide
6. Flying samples (of related characters / various sizes)
7. A sample producing fibre
8. A water-powered group
9. Wires of various flexibility

If I could choose where to move beyond the Wall, the swamp would be the last place. What kind of surface is it? It’s neither solid nor liquid. Trees have no leaves there and the sound is lost, too. We’re trying to get out of here as quickly as possible, but we keep going at the lowest speed. Meriwether is teasing me, asking if I want to stay longer and collect samples. His humour reminds me of bare branches in the swamp – it touches your sore spot just when you don’t expect it.

The forests are getting thicker. They’re dusky, and we can’t tell the night from the day. I’m quite fascinated by the environment that lives independently of our existence. But it seems someone did expect our arrival. A fallen trunk created a footbridge over the gorge. Did it make any sound during the fall when there’s no one far and wide to hear it? I asked Meriwether about this, and he said: Is there a moment when you don’t make any sound?

We were on our journey for several months, and nothing happened. Sometimes we had an argument. But we were just splitting hairs. To me, the source of all information is the file created by Doc. My companion says that all sources of knowledge were collected by PeeDeeF. Since evidence is missing, endless disputes divide us – and not only us, the whole community. The controversy was stopped by a remarkable glow.

I was so tense I completely forgot to be afraid. Perhaps for the first time, it was me who led the way. As if I was somebody else. Meriwether warned me it could be a trap. PeeDeeF refers to light that is capable of teleportation. It’s said to cause secret abductions to flying machines controlled by an unknown civilization. As a scientist, I found this ridiculous. There are no flying machines.

We were amazed by what we found. The light came from the moon that was illuminating the clearing. We went through the thick forest so long, we lost track of the fact it got dark. There was a strange object in the middle of the clearing. It reminded me of an old legend about Ik and R, the flying robots. I always thought the legend was nonsense. But what if we’ve just discovered the evidence Ik and R had existed? Could our ancestors fly? And what do the signs on the pedestal mean?

I was so excited by the discovery. We took all records and samples, but didn’t come to any logical conclusion. We had no choice but to leave the more detailed research to the lab and set out on our journey again. We left the forest. Then we realized how much the journey had affected us. We’re not designed for moisture, mud and struggling with vegetation. The fuel indicators were close to zero, so it was time for a service break.

We needed a general overhaul very badly. I used tallow oil to grease the hardware threads that were getting dangerously slow. My reaction capability got to Meriwether’s level. He almost convinced me that PeeDeeF is a valid source of information. I discovered loose power lines I had to tighten. Our jackets got new coats of paint. Judging by what we see in the distance, we’ll certainly need it.

We’ve discovered the first error in Meriwether’s programme: he’s afraid of heights. I had to climb the first and tell him we were almost there. My cape was waving in the wind and there wasn’t a greater hero far and wide. Our design is not suitable for climbing. Ideally, we’d need five terminal clamps instead of three. It would be easier to hold to the ledges. Now that I think of it, it would be easier to manipulate with anything. I’ll suggest that when we return.

Meriwether saw something on the ledge. It was just a moment, so we’re not sure exactly what it was. The first inhabitant beyond the Great Wall? It was about two and a half meters tall and staggering – just like Meriwether when he uses too much tallow. If it was a robot, he’d have a protective suit, probably because of the unfavourable conditions. To me, the creature was “yet to be identified” – in short, Yetti.

I don’t know what’s gotten into Meriwether. He told me he wanted to find Yetti. But I think he mostly wanted to find his lost courage. He started climbing the rock wall and told me to belay him. I don’t like him when he’s in such an unreasonable mood. After a small argument, I stopped contradicting him. But I thought my dear companion would fall down. Some people call it intuition, some an accurate calculation of the strength of the ledge.

I did catch Meriwether very smoothly and safely, but it was useless. The sum of our weights, baggage, equipment and the piece of rock Meriwether was still holding in his hand, made us fall down. In the laboratory, we like this riddle: What is heavier? A kilo of feathers or a kilo of iron? If I could say anything to Meriwether at this point, I’d probably say: “I told you so.” But we were still falling.

Some say that at the moment of your final disposal, all your life passes in front of your eyes. But it doesn’t when you’re falling into an endless abyss. All you can see is the rock. Since we were falling really long, I had time to think. I reviewed all the 22,124,102,015 days spent in the laboratory. All of them were the same, so it didn’t take long. I wonder what passed in front of Meriwether’s eyes. We should have got to know each other better.

When the fall started to be boring, I thought of a story. It’s about a robot that sees a special creature, runs after it, and falls into a hole. The robot is falling very, very long and sees the dwellings of more creatures. Deep down, the robot finds itself in a world where the old rules don’t apply. When the robot drinks from a bottle, it gets smaller; when it drinks from another bottle, it grows bigger. Then the robot meets a character wearing a top hat and… It’s a pity I didn’t have time to finish the story.

 

INTERMEZZO

At first, you’re shocked there’s a lot of blue liquid around you. Then you’re relieved it’s not coming out of you. Do you know the situation when you’re in the standby mode for a long time, your limbs go numb, and you can’t feel anything? This was pretty similar. The only difference was we really lost our limbs. I was lucky and saved a leg and an arm. Meriwether had to wait until I put myself together to help him.

It seems we haven’t suffered any major damage. Our pride and Meriwether’s hat were hurt the most. Fortunately, our reverse reconstruction wasn’t too complicated. Except for a minor incident. When I was assembling our limbs, I accidentally attached Meriwether’s hand to my body. No wonder I couldn’t screw my leg on then – my fingers were all thumbs. Meriwether seems to suffer from short-term memory loss. He hasn’t made a scratchy remark for an hour.

Perhaps it’s because he’s badly scratched his leg. The jammed joint made the assembly impossible and the tallow oil we need now was spilled on the ground. I comforted him and said that my colleague from the T-Fox lab could run with replacement prosthesis. But where could we find prosthesis here? Then I noticed that something was flowing out of the Amazon sample. The viscous liquid greased Meriwether’s limb, and we could easily put it back.

All the other samples ended up much worse. Those with legs ran away. My favourite specimens I called Buzz and Knock after the sounds they made escaped as well. The rest was all mixed up. No samples were really damaged, but I’ll have to sort them again. But how? By material, size, colour, location, or the date of collection? Meriwether asked me if we were divided into mad and sane scientists in the lab.

 

We found ourselves in a cave. Our measurement devices broke down after the fall, so we can’t determine how deep we are. Now we know how vulnerable we are without them. We have to guess everything now. I wish we had more practical knowledge. There are only two things we’re sure of. We’re deep down in a cave. Very deep. Very, very deep. And the tunnel ahead of us is long and unexplored. Such findings mean only one thing. We have to move on.

Enthusiasm pricked me like a stalactite. After we walked along the cave tunnel for several days, we came to the mouth. What we saw almost stopped our circulating circuits: a huge object of an unknown origin. Its building blocks don’t look like anything that has ever built by modern civilization. The purpose of the structure and its strange location are also unclear. Who built something like this? And why? I feel that we’ve found something of an immense importance.

 

Translated by Sylva Ficová