Chapter 4 THE MONSOID PORTAL DEPARTMENT

They found themselves seated in a hemispherical cable car which moved alongside a few others hung on separate cables. The foggy hills and forests far below them told of how many feet they were above ground level.

"How much I've missed this breathtaking view." Uwa had her head pressed against the screen, looking down.

Maranna sat nervously, her knees shaking. She looked down and saw the hills, valleys, settlements, establishments, and forests, above which fogs glided.

"What's this place?" She asked.

"We are in the world of thought-forms," Uwa said. "We are headed to the Monsoid Infonix Institute."

"Never expected it to be this large," Maranna said, pressing her head on the screen, too.

Bala yawned. "I crave getting to Ailo's place as soon as possible. Still feeling sleepy."

Maranna looked to her sides to see other cable cars that moved alongside theirs.

"I guess these one's contain alfes from other planets," she said.

"Ours is the fifth on the line," Uwa said. "The one by the right should contain alfes from Saptum."

"Saptites," Bala said wearily.

"Wow." Maranna strained her eyes to see the images of those in the car after theirs. She saw moving apparitions and waved at them.

"And they wouldn't wave back," Bala said. "Chill, girl. You'll see a lot of them when we arrive the Monsoid Portal Department."

"Hope we're close, then," she said and sat erect.

From where they sat, they could see six towers ahead to which the cables were fastened. They were still far from the towers, and Maranna couldn't tell where the cars really led to.

In a few more minutes, the car lead them into one of the towers through a fitting hemispherical chamber from which they descended down a vertical passage that filled them with a relieving rush of air.

The base of the tower had a lengthy glass tunnel along which the car ran towards a cuboidal glass building, having carved metal sheets of THE MONSOID PORTAL DEPARTMENT mounted on it's roof. They enjoyed the view of the sky, the green fields, and flowery shrubs they passed by. The car finally got to a halt in the interior of the building which had the looks of a bank. The building had a line of sections where receptionists sat before computers, ready to receive the visitors.

They alighted from the car alongside other visitors whom Maranna couldn't take her eyes off. She saw them dressed in prideful and elegant clothings, having distinguished looks, complexions, and heights. Shortly, an electronic voice called their attention, instructing them to line up before the receptions representing them. Maranna looked up and saw the names of the various planets in electronic writings, running from end to end above the receptions.

Maranna silently read out the planets while they walked. "Neptar, Plutar, Uharu, Andra, Earth, Saptum."

They got to the receptionist who received Earth. She was a pretty alphene with the looks of some of the beings Maranna had seen at Mamadiya's place. Her hair spikes weren't standing erect; they were curved like giant question marks around her head.

"Welcome, Earthlings," she said, beaming a smile of familiarity at Uwa, who stood in front. Maranna's eyes strayed to her left and she saw a male alfe with his eyes fixed on her, smiling. He was good-looking; a polished, brown skin, large, green eyes, and a sheeny, silvery hair. He gave her a thumbs-up, and she smiled back, but looked away afterwards.

"Hey." She tapped Bala. "The alfes on the left, which planet are they from?"

Bala looked to his side. "They are from Andra. The talkers."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You need to focus on what's before you for now, girl," he said.

Maranna calmed.

The receptionist focused a spherical camera before Uwa's eyes. It beeped twice and the receptionist handed her a double-strapped satchel. She did same to Bala and Maranna. When it beeped at Maranna, the receptionist smiled at her.

"A new one you are." She took up the satchel. "Here are things you'll need during your stay. You'll find ten Infocoins in there, too." She winked. "Lady Ailo will be your Infoguardian. You await her outside. Good luck."

Maranna hung the satchel and headed for the exit.

The outside was a wide tarmac that lead to a large gate in front, where two huge humanoids sat at both ends. She saw the knots of alfes that stood at designated points with their satchels on, awaiting their Infoguardians. Her eyes mistakenly met with the alfe that smiled at her inside the reception house and she looked away immediately.

"Still feeling sleepy, Bala?" Uwa asked.

He blinked. "Still surprised it's gone."

Maranna had her eyes on the humanoids at the gate. "Those are thought-forms?" She pointed at them.

"Two of the few allowed in the institute," a feminine voice said from behind.

They turned around to see a female alphene beaming at them. Maranna found her relatively young and beautiful. Her hair spikes were erect.

"Ailo," Uwa cheerfully said. "You came real quick."

"Oh, yes, I did." She prostrated. "And I see a replacement of Moshood here."

Maranna smiled.

"She's Maranna," Uwa said. "We found her prior to the beginning of the new cycle."

"Maranna. Beautiful," she said. "Working with a newbie isn't so easy, but we'll see." She led them towards her car; a brown sedan with an open roof. "Rangee anticipates oblivia. You needed to see the happiness on his face when he heard the alfes had arrived."

"One of the things I need to hear," Uwa said. "We anticipate oblivia, too. How's Lastein doing?"

"Getting his hands on some things that needed to be touched," she said.

"What's oblivia?" Maranna asked Uwa.

"A game you'd experience when we get there," Uwa said, when they had reached the car.

They rode across the gate, along a tarred path flanked by overgrown grasses and shrubs.

"That's one of the minor gates of the institute." Ailo said to Maranna, who sat beside her. "We are going to the Department of Earthling Affairs, where you and your colleagues will run some manual registrations that'll fully qualify you for the session. It's just there." She pointed to a place Maranna couldn't see. Maranna nodded and kept staring at the undulating movements of the bushes.

As the bushes along the road lessened with distance, Ailo drove into a bend where they could see a tall, narrow building, surrounded by supermarkets and other minor establishments. The building, as was pointed out by Ailo, was where the manual registration would take place. Ailo parked before a stall and ushered them down.

The manual registration at the Department of Earthling Affairs was time draining. But, when they finally came out with document-containing files and their admission cards, Ailo took them into a supermarket beside the building and got them beverages, fruits, and cookies. Uwa and Maranna took out three Infcoins each and got themselves fancy wristwatches and hair bands. Bala refused touching his.

The road that led to Ailo's house had a peculiar scent that felt relieving to Maranna. The road had farms on one side and gardened bungalows on the other, separated by hedges. After a while of driving, Ailo stopped before a barred gate through which they could see the house. A honk from the car called a diminutive humanoid to the gate, and it was flung open, revealing a clearer view of the interior. Maranna marveled at the looks of the place. It was quite spacious. The bungalow was flanked by a line of neatly-trimmed ixora plants by the left and a wide lawn by the right, in the middle of which a tree with crescent-shaped fruits stood, littering the lawn with brown leaves and tiny, yellow flowers. Ailo parked her car at one side of the lawn. Through the screen, Maranna saw the shabby-haired humanoid that worked on the lawn. He was neither using a rake nor a broom to gather the leaves together. She saw him move his hands in the air and the leaves followed the directions, clumping together to form a round mass of leaves. They got down from the car and the boot was flung open.

They walked to where the humanoid worked, and they were greeted by a sweet scent coming from the tree.

"Hey, Lastein," Ailo called him.

He stood erect and towered above them all.

"He grows every month," Bala said.

"They here again," Lastein said. His voice sounded like he spoke through a pipe. "Uwa, Bala --" he paused to look at Maranna. "Moshood, gone."

They laughed.

"This is Maranna, she's new," Uwa said.

"I knew that Moshood' absence would invite someone else," he said. "Began clearing them thing' when I heard them had arrived." He paused and clipped his brows. "But, Ailo, you drive too fast. Don't wan't them coming to meet them thing' littered around."

"Leave them thing' that way," Uwa said and chuckled. "You don't know what joy it brings stepping on them." She ran off into the lawn and began gyrating close to the tree.

Maranna looked at the tree and felt a tinge of Uwa's cheerfulness. "Guess that tree is one of the weird things I'd see here," she said.

"That's a lam tree," Ailo said. "Expect relishing your taste buds with those fruits in three months' time."

"Oblivia vibes, eh?" They heard a voice coming from the ground. They looked down and saw the diminutive humanoid. He had the looks of a goblin.

"Hei!" Maranna jerked. His canines were like that of a dog's.

Ailo laughed. "Rangee isn't good-looking, but trust me, he's the most cheerful here."

"Yes, yes. Because I love to play oblivia. Do you love it?" He asked Maranna.

"How would she love something she hasn't played before, Rangee?" Bala said.

"What is he?" Maranna asked. "A thought-form?"

Ailo laughed. "A grotesque-form that found it's way here. And my mother could be very accommodating," she said. "He's one of the friendliest thought-forms you'd ever meet."

While Ailo talked, Maranna saw him grinning, and he appeared less hideous each second.

"You need to play oblivia, friend," Rangee said.

"Well, I could learn," Maranna said.

"Not now," Lastein said. "You all need to have a rest before doing that."

Uwa chuckled. "I knew he would say this. Lastein has never been a fan of oblivia."

"I understand him," Ailo said. "The game requires his abilities, and he just sits beneath the tree with eyes closed while you all have the fun."

"His abilities, you say," Maranna said. "What he uses on the lawn?"

"You've heard of Albert Einstein?" Bala asked.

"The man with the bushy hair and a smoking pipe," Maranna said.

"Which ever description that suits him, Lastein is a thought-form that birthed his famous theory," Bala said.

"Woah," Maranna said. "And the names ring a bell. Lastein -- Einstein, hmm."

"So observant of you," Uwa said. "A huge number of thought-forms got their names rhyming with that of their originators'."

"Another is Kaheimer, a thought-form that birthed the first nuclear weapons," Bala said. "Go do researches yourself."

"Still interested in Lastein's abilities, though," Maranna said.

"And there's one you'd love him for," Rangee said, revealing his scary teeth. "Lastein, make darkness come on us."

"Means he could deflect light from us," Uwa said to Maranna's ear.

"That's crazy, Rangee," Lastein said. "Have told you severally, you shouldn't dictate what I do with my ability. It's mine not your'."

"Lastein at it again," Rangee said, looking away.

"And the oblivia?" Maranna said.

"As Lastein had said, that'll be after you must have refreshed," Ailo said. "Let's go in."

They left to the house.

"Oh, let me." Rangee hurried to the front and pushed the door open, allowing the cold air that tarried in the room embrace them. "And your luggage." He ran back.

The room was decorated with portraits of good-looking alphenes, both old and young. The largest of them all was that of an elderly woman with grey hair spikes. Hers hung beside Ailo's own portrait.

When they took seats, a device with the looks of a cylindrical radio rang. Ailo pressed a button atop it and a hologram of an elderly male alphene was projected.

"Infolord Malacoid," Ailo said.

"I see the alfes are here already," He said. "I'm Infolord Malacoid, from the prestigious Department of Physical InfoSciences; Faculty of Physical and Life InfoSciences; a faculty you represent, too. You guys got your admission cards already, I guess. Your fresh Infonts would be having the continuum practicals tomorrow and you all have a duty there. Remember to come with your admission cards. Also, bear in mind that the Monsoid Infonix Institute upholds academic purity and fairness, illegal transactions like giving students take-home ribbons or making yourselves ghost-forms are punishable. You shouldn't indulge in it!" He raised his voice. "Ailo, here, will tell more things to you. Welcome to the Monsoid Infonix Institute." He grinned, and his image fluctuated off.

"That's Infolord Malacoid," Ailo said. "A respected staff in the faculty. You heard all he had said, right."

"I heard, but I didn't get some terms he used," Maranna said.

"The take-home ribbons?" Uwa asked.

"And making ghost-forms," Maranna said.

"At first, take-home ribbons are void ribbons an alfe could secretly spawn for an alphene, with which the alphene could weave anything of choice back home," Uwa said.

Bala laughed. "And that's one great thing you could do for an alphene. They make anything they wish with it."

"Which could turn out to be harmful," Ailo said. "You shouldn't do that."

"As for the ghost-forms," Uwa said, "an alfe who wishes to communicate with a friend over a long distance could get an alphene to weave her a ghost-form. And it's quite interesting." She nudged Maranna. "You could be in two places at a time. You stay here and the synthesized ghost-form shows you things over there."

"That, too, is a wrong thing to do," Ailo said. "Alfes could spy on other institutes or regions with that, which could lead to something troublesome."

"Okay, I get it now. It's bad, and I won't do any of that," Maranna said with her hand on her chest.

When that chapter was closed, Rangee came to them, rubbing his palms together. "I prepared three different delicacies prior to your arrival. There's sway noodles, fountain soup, and brittle-yam soup. Which do you want?"

"The sway noodles, please," Uwa said, with an expression of disgust over the other two he mentioned.

"The sway noodles," Bala said.

"And you, our special guest. Which?" Rangee asked.

Uwa strongly signaled the sway noodles at her.

"The sway noodles," Maranna said.

"Alright, then." He left for the kitchen.

"Hmm," Ailo breathed. "What's up with humans on Earth? Heard they'd be getting suicidal anytime soon."

"What?" They all chorused.

"How?" Uwa asked.

"Oh, you don't know?" Ailo said. "Moshood has done a lot of harm with his moves."

"Please, I still don't get what you're talking about," Maranna said, trembling within.

Ailo snorted. "Now I hate myself for bringing this up. Thought I needed you guys to have a good welcome rest, ah."

"No, I want to know," Maranna said.

"We want to know," Uwa said.

"A pretty discussion I started," Ailo said, sitting up. "Those books Moshood took back to Earth to share amongst humans, it's certain it would do them a lot of harm."

"Okay!" Rangee yelled from the door that led to the kitchen. "Your sway noodles here. Move over to the dining." He kept the tray and clapped.

"We would be there soon, Rangee," Uwa said.

"You should cover them up," Bala said.

"Alright, alright," Rangee said.

They fixed their eyes on Ailo immediately.

"The theft of the Celestial Hierarchy series, authored by Infolord Baraki, was recorded in the Infonix Lore after the alfes had returned to their planets. Moshood did a perfect timing there," Ailo said. "You know, the Infonix Lore is a book that automatically inscribes happenings in the institute. A week later, another update from the Infonix Lore was released, and the registrar reported the consequences humans on Earth would face if they came across the books."

"And they are?" Uwa said.

"The Celestial Hierarchy series establishes a caste of superiority and inferiority between the planets," Ailo said. "It gave an outline of how a human who wishes to be reborn in a planet superior to his own planet could achieve that."

Maranna swallowed hard, listening to her.

"A human who wishes this has to be involved in suicide, through specific means listed in the book."

Maranna gasped, shaking in fright.

"Are you okay, Maranna?" Uwa said.

"My sister is one of those he gave the books," she said.

"Trouble," Bala said.

"Is there a way one could leave the institute back to Earth? I need to stop my sister," she said.

"The portal has been closed already. To be reopened in seven months' time," Ailo said.

"You could make yourself a ghost-form, you know," Bala said.

"Thought I heard someone talk against that," Uwa said. "After all, a ghost-form has boundaries it can't cross."

Maranna got restless, heating up.

"You need to calm down, Maranna," Ailo said. "At the moment, you need not worry much. We don't see the ribbons of suicide entering the institute yet."

"And, who knows, she could see the books as some of those fables she had come across at a point in her life," Bala said.

"You need to rest your nerves, Maranna," Uwa said. "From the way you spoke about your sister during the trainings, she seemed clever to me, she wouldn't take such to heart."

Their words calmed Maranna to an extent. "But why would Moshood choose to do this?" She said.

"Well," Ailo said, "there was a false rumour that spread wildly after the book was released. It was said the book instructs humans on how to race up their level of civilization to par with that of a superior planet's. Only those who took time to read it knew what the books really taught."

"And I doubt the dummy took a peek into the books before giving them out," Bala said.

"Now this," Uwa said.

"Another person that should be blamed is the author. How could he sit to write something so sinister," Maranna said.

"Infolord Baraki, you mean," Ailo said. "A senior staff in the Faculty of Dark InfoArts."

"Hello!" Rangee called from the kitchen door. "Food's on the table, remember? Getting cold."

"Coming right there." Bala left them for the dining table.

"Infolord Baraki used to be my mother's close associate," Ailo said.

Maranna looked up at the elderly lady's picture one more time and the resemblance between her and Ailo surfaced.

"He got very close to mom while he was writing the book, because she associated with Earth alfes that used to visit here some years back. He was so interested in Earth people and their culture, asking her a lot of questions. Then, mother didn't know he was working on a book."

"So he wrote the books for it to be distributed to Earth people. What were his plans?" Uwa said.

"I don't think he made it for Earth people. I heard he also got close to alfes of other planets and alphenes close to them. When done, it was lunched and kept in the shelves of the museum's library for alfes to read, not humans," Ailo said.

"And Moshood got foolish on sighting it," Uwa said. "How did he even do it? Stealing from the museum's library is close to impossible."

"I don't know. No one knows," Ailo said. "Baraki stopped visiting after my mother's death, but we see at times in campus."

"She's the one in the picture?" Maranna said, looking up at the picture.

"Infolady Ertheilo," Ailo said. "Mother of all."

"I wish Moshood was caught at the spot," Maranna said.

"Unfortunately he wasn't," Ailo said. "The registrar raised the alarm a few weeks later, after she had done her monthly check on the Infonix Lore."

"I hope nothing bad happens to Helen," Maranna said. "She could be trouble, but I love her so much."

"I like her, too," Uwa said. "She'll be fine."

"And that reminds me. Have you seen the new museum?" Ailo said.

"There's a new one?" Uwa said.

"The institute decided to tighten the security after Moshood defiled the old museum's library," Ailo said. "On a second thought, they took it to a higher level and built a new museum."

Uwa clapped. "I'd love to visit there."

"That's after you have assisted the new Infonts in the practicals holding tomorrow," Ailo said.

"That's no problem," Uwa said.

"The visit to the museum would be coming in a week's time and all the alfes would be there. A thrilling experience it would be," Ailo said.

It cheered Maranna up. "Would like to see the campus first," she said.

"You would love it," Ailo said. "But first." She gestured to the dining table, and they all went to eat.

They enjoyed the sway noodles. It was a sumptuous entanglement of colorful, edible ribbons which tasted like oats mixed with molten caramel.

After the meal, Uwa showed Maranna places in the house: the bathroom, toilet, and the room allocated to them. Inside their room, they saw the same device that Infolord Malacoid spoke to them with. Uwa called it the ribbophone. It would be what they would use to communicate with people in the institute.

When they were done inside, Rangee led them outside to play oblivia with Lastein. He told them he had already pleaded with Lastein to allow them play, but Lastein's reaction when they asked was negative. Lastein only allowed them to play when Uwa told him that Maranna would love to be part of it. When the game started, Maranna sat at the staircase leading to the doorpost, watching them. They had already briefed her about the game. It was a kind of hide-and-seek game which involved Lastein using his light-shifting ability to make a player invisible by wrapping light around the player. It was called the Photo Shield. Then the player would spawn thoughts of a trap which would trap the light around the player, keeping the photons on hold, so that even Lastein wouldn't be able to undo it. It would only be undone if the player yelled 'oblivia'.

Maranna happily watched them. Lastein sat beneath the lam tree with his eyes closed while Uwa and Rangee searched for invisible Bala, whom Rangee later felt sitting beside Maranna. Bala yelled out the magic word and was made visible.

They took turns to make themselves invisible until Maranna opted to join. She loved seeing them grope around searching for her while she stood close to them. It was Rangee who always fished the invisible player out. The way he gripped them with his crooked fingers when they never expected it was very scary and startling. Maranna never knew how he did it, but it was after the game had ended she was told he used his ears and sense of smell.