CHAPTER 3 GAIA AWAKENS What with the travel,
Across nearly one quarter the circumference of Mars to get to the first day of the Tribunal,
I needed my pod.
When we Heptapod slept,
It was a little different from sleep for a Mayan.
We underwent a mini-regeneration.
Cells that died off during the day were repaired and replaced,
At a rate of over a hundred times that for our two-legged creators.
All that communication had worn out my chromatophores.
The way we spoke was to vibrate the air around us to make sound.
If you were looking down on me as I slept,
You would have been able to see darkened areas lighten.
I fell asleep hugging myself with my front and back tentacles.
This had been the norm since I was left alone on Mars when the others left for Earth.
Our dreams were sometimes more real than our awakened times.
They were certainly weirder.
I found out later that they were messages from the Council.
That night's dream was both strange and pertinent.
I was moving around freely on Earth,
Floating above the surface.
The yellow-white goo that I'd seen in the landing videos had been replaced by a verdant green carpet of moss.
I had my helmet off and I was breathing air.
The oxygen-nitrogen mix that I'd been programmed for in my last regen.
And the smell.
It was like a more intense version of the most luscious part of Baos Marineris.
The sun was low in the sky and painting the most glorious vermilion under the clouds.
This was a sun not seen from the surface of Earth since the pulse hit.
The really weird thing was that the Earth was talking to me,
But in a language that I knew,
But didn't recognise.
Thank you for bringing life back to me,
She said,
In a gentle and sincere manner.
Your colleagues did not give up their lives in vain.
Their knowledge is my knowledge now,
She continued.
I am awake.
At this point I awoke too.
The dream and that dialogue with the Earth felt more real than usual.
I was really wide awake now.
Something I didn't need,
As I didn't want to be mulling over the next two days' proceedings.
I needn't have worried,
As it turned out,
As something inspired me to do something that even surprised me.
I emerged from my pod,
Vibrated my skin dry,
Found my tablet and started to sketch and doodle.
I drew the image of Earth from my dreams.
This is something I had not done since my very first schooling.
It made me feel safe and whole.
I was then drawn back to my pod and found myself going back to sleep.
This time it was dreamless.
I woke with a new resolve and certainty,
Comforted by knowing that everything was going to be alright,
Even though it was going to be a rough ride.
