The Seeker had returned later that Summer. and another town meeting had been called.

One of Seeker's main missions was charting the coast, and a lot had been learned about their landmass. Gerd would not commit to calling it a continent, subcontinent, or island yet. They would go from here back home to resupply, then head north.

One of the biggest surprises was that the village was located midway down a long, narrow, curved peninsula. Directly on the other side of the mountains from the village was another coast and village. Further north, at the equator, was another village yet. By Gerd's best navigational estimates, the closest village was less than five kilometers away!

Nathan realized it might as well be five hundred kilometers away. The mountains were way too tall to just put on a pack and hike over them. (One expedition had already tried crossing the closest mountain pass from the village, but had had to turn back due to the thinness of the air. No one would be crossing those mountains without taking oxygen along.)

For now, Gerd was calling the peninsula 'The Tail'.

The partial map Gerd had drawn resembled a large comma, with the tail of course being the tail of the comma.

Lars had said on their first day on this world that there were six groups altogether. That left only two to be discovered. Gerd said he expected to find those other two villages at the northern Arc/Trops. He also expected that he would find the landmass to be a large island, but he didn't want to jump to that conclusion too hastily.

Gerd also reported some surprising information about the mountains, based on measurements made on Seeker. They were extremely tall. The tallest was near the village on the east coast at the equator. When Gerd gave its elevation, a couple of physiscists balked, explaining that it would extend well above the atmosphere at that height. Gerd offered to share his numbers with them after the meeting. There was quite a bit of talk about being able to don breathing gear and literally walking out into space. Not that that would be practical anytime soon.

Nathan had made his own discovery, and in conflict with Lars' orders, had been keeping quiet about it. He had met one of the beings in the hills.

He had been spending much of his free time just sitting on a rock near where he had seen the figure disappear. For weeks nothing had happened.

On a hunch, one day he had taken a piece of bread with him. When he sat on the rock, he broke the bread in two and set one piece on the ground, then sat on the rock and began eating the other piece.

As he had watched, the air seemed to condense into a dark human form. The figure had picked up the bread, given it back to Nathan, and stepped back.

Nathan had pointed to himself, saying "Nathan".

He had heard his own voice repeat "Nathan".

Nathan had pointed to the figure, who had just stood there, looking like a dark glass statue.

"Who are you?" Nathan had asked.

"Who are you? his own voice had asked back. Nathan didn't know if the figure was just mimmicking, or turning the question around.

He had realized that if these beings could be invisible at times, they may have been observing the village all along. Maybe they had figured out the German language by now.

"We were sent here," he had told the figure. "We were taken from our homes and brought here. We do not want to harm you."

His own voiced had repeated - slowly "We do not want to harm you". It wasn't quite mimmicry.

They had stared at each other for a minute or so when the figure had extended a finger and slowly approached Nathan.

Nathan had sat still at first, then had extended his own finger.

When the fingers had touched, there had been a brief flash of warmth, then the figure had retreated several steps. Suddenly, the figure's color had flashed from smokey glass to fleshtone.

The figure had then began sprouting hair on top of its head, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Its facial features became more distinct, and individual fingers and toes began resolving on the hands and feet. Within seconds, Nathan was faced with an exact copy of himself, right down to his appendectomy scar, and left shoulder mole.

"Guten abend," the being had said.

"Guten abend," Nathan had answered. "Do you understand me?"

"I understand some. The Old Ones tell me to watch you people. They want to know how - dangerous? you are. They want to know why you came."

"I told you why we came."

"Yes."

"What are you called?"

The being had thought for a few seconds. "We do not use sound the way you do. My sound name would be -" he had paused to think again. "O lo s," he had concluded.

"Olos?" Nathan had repeated.

"Yes."

Most of the rest of the conversation had been frustrating. Obviously, Olos had not yet mastered German.

Seeing that Olos had chosen to continue looking like a clone of himself, Nathan had come up with the idea of letting Olos masquerade as him in the village. It had taken some effort to explain, and more effort to explain the importance of not letting anyone see both himself and Olos at the same time.

But when he had finally understood, Olos had said "This is good."

Some of the near-mishaps had actually been fun, but they had managed to never be seen together. Nathan had had fun with people's confusion when it was clear that they had just seen him somewhere else. He knew the truth was too implausible for someone to guess it.

He had wanted Olos to attend this meeting with Gerd, but he had wanted to attend as well. He had thought it to be a quandary until Olos had stepped out of his skin.

Nathan had thought all along that Olos' external covering was just sort of body mask. Watching Olos take it off, carefully lay it on a rock and fold it up, Nathan had realized it was actual human skin. Realizing it was essentially his own skin made the scene just that much more unnerving.

Once the skin had been neatly folded, Nathan was surprised to see it apparently fade out of existence. "It is still there," Olos had told him.

Now Olos sat invisibly next to him, listening to the meeting. Nathan knew he was there because Olos would occasionally poke him in the side or make farting noises that anyone nearby assumed were coming from Nathan.

"Just pay attention," Nathan tried to whisper to Olos.

"Excuse me?" said a man on the other side of Olos.

"Sorry. Not You sir," Nathan apologized.

The man looked around puzzled, then turned back to the meeting.

That same man's voice spoke up louder from somewhere in the middle of the group. "We don't need to explore those higher peaks yet. We have plenty to do down here."

Nathan looked at the man whose voice Olos had co-opted. The man was nodding in agreement. Apparently he didn't recognize his own voice.

Lars did. He looked at the man near Nathan as soon as the voice spoke.

"I agree with that for now, but who said that? We don't have annonymous speakers in our meetings."

"That was Heinz," someone said.

"It was not," the man near Nathan got to his feet.

"I agree. It was not. I was watching Heinz," Lars said. "Everyone please stand and step forward when addressing this meeting."

A quiet voice said in Nathan's ear "He acts like the Old Ones." The voice was not a whisper. It was just a low-level voice - Nathan's in fact.

Nathan just nodded.

The meeting went on to trade details. Nathan tried to be interested. This was history in the making, after all. But it was tedious in the extreme.

Apparently Olos had similar feelings. His voice said "'wiedersehen".

"Which one are you?" Dan asked when Nathan got home.

Nathan didn't have the slightest idea what his father meant. "Which one, what?" he asked.

"Which you," Mariah said. "Which one of the doubles?"

"I'm me," Nathan said, wondering if he could bluff his way out of this.

"Yes, you are. So who's the other one?" Dan asked.

"My invisible friend?" Nathan tried the joking approach.

"He needs to work on that part," Mariah said. "He was way too visible when I saw one of you tonight then turned around and saw the other one fifteen meters away."

Nathan considered for a few seconds. "I guess you two need to meet Olos," he finally said.

"I think now would be a good time," Dan said.

Nathan shrugged and turned to the door. "Follow me."

As they walked, Nathan said "They are the Oreni. Well, that's the name Olos and I came up with. They don't have an audible name for themselves. I got the idea from the Orenda."

"The what?" Dan asked.

"Orenda was a Mohican Indian word - I think."

"Always with the Indianer," Mariah sighed.

"Orenda was a word for the life-force that pervades all people, animals, trees, blades of grass, even mountains, rocks and streams."

His parents said nothing about that, so he went on. "The older Oreni are like living forces of nature. They are not very localized. It's like they expand when they mature.

"The younger ones are like Olos. They can manipulate energy and matter on the atomic level, and they have a well defined body - sort of. They look very plain to us. Kind of like a glass statue."

"What I saw was not a glass statue," Mariah said.

"They can mimmic most anything, but it takes effort. Olos made a copy of my skin that he wears around."

"What, like rubber?" Dan asked.

"No. I've seen him put it on and off. It's real skin. He says it's the same as mine. I don't know how he keeps it alive."

"You keep saying 'he' Mariah said.

Nathan shook his head "Well, they reproduce by splitting off a piece of themselves, so there is no male or female. But it doesn't feel right to call Olos 'it'. And he is imitating me, after all."

"How long have you known Olos?" Dan asked.

"Since the beginning of the Summer."

Both of his parents relaxed visibly. "That's when you started showing two distinct personalities," Mariah said. "We were worried that the virus was causing some brain malfunction. We were hearing about or interacting with Olos during those episodes, right?"

"Probably," Nathan said hesitantly. "What did he do?"

"Nothing terrible," Dan said. "You just weren't acting like you - or he wasn't. Sometimes it was downright funny to me, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings so I kept it inside."

"You thought it was funny?" Mariah sounded shocked.

"Well yeah. You didn't?"

"I thought he was our son. I thought his mind was slipping. It wasn't funny."

Nathan had stopped walking. They were a ways from the village, but still within earshot. They could hear children's voices in the distance.

"Olos, they want to meet you," Nathan called out.

Olos stepped out from behind a bush. "They met me before," he said.

"But they didn't know it," Nathan replied. Mutti and Vatti, this is Olos."

It was uncanny to see their son in duplicate. When Dan noticed even Nathan's mole and freckles were duplicated, he asked Olos "Do you carry the virus in you too?"

Olos looked puzzled. "What is the virus?"

Dan looked quickly to Nathan. "You didn't tell him about the virus?" he asked incredulously.

"I told him not to touch anyone, but the Oreni don't like doing that anyway. They are very sensitive to fhe life-energy of others. They don't casually touch."

"I want to test him in the morning," Dan said. "Olos, it's very important that you not touch anyone before then. You could kill them under certain conditions."

"What are the conditions?" Olos asked.

"If the other person had any open sores, or if they rubbed their eyes with their hands after touching you; if they had mouth sores and you kissed them; if you sneezed in someone's face; or if - well actually those three are the most likely."

"As Nathan said, I do not normally touch other creatures unless there is need. Should I not walk among your people? I have learned much. I do not need to continue in this form."

"Maybe that would be best, but wait until we test you before we decide that."

"Can we go home and talk?" Mariah asked. "This place is too spooky."

"Mutti, you're just sensing Olos," Nathan chided.

"There are others," Olos said. "Should I ask them to leave?"

"No. This is their home," Mariah said. "I just want to go home to ours." "You go with Nathan," Dan said. "I'll come later with Olos, so people won't see them both together."

"I could take my skin off and go unseen," Olos offered.

"Um, thanks, but no. I would rather you keep it on for now."

"Bis spÄter," Mariah said. "Come Nathan."

"So it's unusual for the Oreni to go to the coastal areas?" Dan asked.

"On the ground, yes," Olos answered. "The air is so thick here. It is almost like you going in water. You go there, but you do not stay. You need a place to rest. We rest in the mountains."

Dan chuckled.

"What in the world is funny about that?" Nathan asked.

"Nearly every person I've met who lived in the mountains said basically the same thing. It's not unique to the Oreni."

"No, but living in these mountains is," Nathan answered. "You know that mountain that sticks up out of the atmosphere? That's like their Garden of Eden, if I understand correctly."

"I do not know this 'Garden of Eden'," Olos said.

"The original home of Man," Dan said. "Everthing was perfect, and all needs were met."

"The mountain is not our garden. We go there every year to meet and share what we have learned, and what has happened in the last year. Other times, individuals go there just to enjoy the place. There is much peacefulness and restorement there. It is a powerful place," Olos said.

"Alright, no Eden, but at least a major vacation spot," Nathan said. "Want to go, Vatti?"

"You get the spacesuits ready and layed out, and we'll leave in the morning," Dan said.

As if suddenly reminded of something, Dan asked "Olos, what do you know about those amber crystals we've been experimenting with?"

"What is amber?" Olos asked.

Dan disappeared a minute and returned with a clear, amber colored object about five centimeters long. It had been oval shaped, but was now cut in half at what had been its middle. The object now roughly resembled a bullet with its rounded nose and flat back end. Dan handed the object to Olos.

"You cut it in half?" Olos asked, apparently shocked. "Why would you do that?"

"What is it?" Dan asked.

Olos carefully and respectfully laid the object on the nearby table. He leaned over it for a few seconds. The object briefly lit up with an amber ight of its own.

"It is weak, but unharmed," Olos said, suprised.

"What is it?" Dan repeated.

Olos paused, as if looking for words. "It is a Ghan stone. It came from there," he said, pointing up. "From the Sister World."

Intrigued, Dan asked "How did it get here?"

Again, Olos paused, thinking. "It fell. They all came together. They are spread all over the land. None of them fell in the sea.

"You must be very careful," Olos continued. "There are only about five, twenty eight, four of them on this world."

"Five, twenty-eight, four?" Dan asked

"Five third level, twenty-eight second level, four first level.

"Levels of what?" Dan asked, still confused.

"They use base forty two, Vatti. A level is like our columns in a number. They stack their numbers vertically. First level is like our ones column, second level is like our tens column, but it's their 42 column. Third level is like our hundreds column, but it's their 42 squared column."

Dan thought a minute. So there's only about 10,000 of these Ghan stones in the world?"

"Be very careful," Olos repeated. "Don't waste any of them. Be respectful, and let them get energy."

"Respectful?" Dan asked puzzled.

"They came from Ghan!" Olos replied, as if that explained everything.

"I will try to get that idea across, but without our people knowing your people are here talking to us, it will be hard to explain how I know we should treat rocks with respect."

"The Old Ones say we must stay hidden from you."

"I thought so," Dan said. "Do you know what we've learned about these crystals?"

"That they cut in half easily?" Olos asked.

"No, but that's an odd thing about them, too. What is really odd is that cut pieces somehow transfer energy to each other."

"Yes. They are Ghan stones," Olos said.

Frustrated by the apparent lack of communication, Dan asked "What did you mean let them get energy?"

"If a Ghan stone does not get enough energy, it will die. Many died in the South during the first Winter they were here."

"How can a crystal be dead?" Nathan asked.

"They stop sharing energy," Olos said.

"Vatti, what do you mean about cut pieces transfering energy?"

"If you tap on one, you can feel the tap through the other one. If you shine a light on one, the other emits light. You see the potential here Nathan?"

"What kind of distance can the two be apart?" Nathan asked.

"We haven't found out yet. So far, several kilometers."

"Distance does not matter," Olos said. "They are Ghan stones."

"Gerd is taking the other half of this one back home with him," Dan told Nathan. "Along with his ancient sailing skills, Gerd also knows the old Morse Code. Peter knows it too, and I'm learning it. We will keep trying to communicate with Gerd as he sails North."

"Will it work with voice?" Nathan asked

"Not yet. They seem to absorb voice frequencies. If the sound is loud enough, and you put the other crystal in your ear in a quiet area, you can barely hear it. It's not nearly as convenient as tapping out a message. Eventually, when we are making electronic devices again, we can network a bunch of these things together with digital packet switching. Then voice or data could be sent anywhere."

"Don't you need computers for that stuff?" Nathan asked.

"Well sure," Dan said, somewhat deflated. "But we'll have all that back - one day." He thought about it further, then said "Probably not in my lifetime, though. There's a lot of infrastructure to build before we can produce microelectronics. You may see it in your lifetime."