Danny opened his eyes to Kira sitting on a rock across the campfire and Coyote on the ground beside her.
“Are you really here?”
Kira shook her head.
Looking around, he saw that the shelters and horses were gone. “We’re in the dream,” he said.
“How have you been?” Kira asked.
“I get by. Settled into some work and relationships back with the family. Lance and I rescued a couple of climbers today, so that’s something. How’s life on your spaceship?”
Kira smiled. “Different. They’ve kept us busy learning about our people and about your people – your people now, not when we were on Earth. Most of those you saw come through the bridge were farmers. As you might imagine, adjustments have to be made.”
“Farmers who know advanced calculus and physics,” Danny said.
“There’s that, but without much practical experience. We’re all learning new ways of living and contributing now that farming doesn’t require as much labor.”
“You have farms on your spaceship?”
“We still eat, even in space.”
“Aren’t most of your people traveling back to your home planets?” Danny asked.
“Some will. I’ll have time for that at some point. I think I told you that my people live a long time. Right now, we’re trying to locate a colony of some who broke away just before we opened the bridge to your time.”
“Are you saying some of your people are still here?”
“We don’t know for certain. We think if they’ve survived, they would have found a way to signal the rescuers. The problem is that since they intended to hide instead of crossing the bridge with us, if they don’t send a signal, they’ll be difficult to find.”
“And you don’t know where they went?”
“It’s a big planet. All we know is that they went south to what we assumed were jungle areas on the southern part of your continent. They would likely have chosen mountainous areas in Mexico or Central America.”
“That’s rough territory – lots of rebels and criminals hide in those jungles. Are you sure they didn’t go all the way to the continent south of this one?”
“You mean South America? We think that’s farther than they would have gone,” Kira said.
The surprise at her knowing the name of the continent must have shown on Danny’s face.
“Your internet and television broadcasts have been helpful,” Kira said. “I’ve been doing what you call binge watching.”
“You speak English now?”
“And a few other languages.”
“With the internet, you know all about us, but we hardly know anything about you.”
“That’s for the best at this stage in your development. And I wouldn’t say we know all about you. For instance, we know that you were influenced, but we still don’t know when or by whom.”
“And you think it was this lost colony?”
“We know they had contact with humans. Do you know where the mesa is that your friend Sam found?”
“Whispering Mesa – the one your people hollowed out?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that,” she said.
“You have been watching television.”
“We set up listeners around the mesa to pick up cellular and internet communications.”
“You wiretapped Whispering Mesa?” Danny asked.
“We thought that it might someday be visited by descendants from that colony. And we got our first clue today.”
“There were Thresden at the mesa?”
“No. They were humans. We picked up a phone call of someone speaking Keslin, my people’s language.”
“Humans speaking an alien language is a pretty big clue. Are they still there?”
“I can’t imagine they’ve gone far,” Kira said. “How soon can you get there?”
“Tomorrow, if I hurry. Do you have a way to track them if they leave?”
“We’re working on it, and I’m hoping you can help. And you need to know something else Danny.”
“What’s that?”
“In their call, they mentioned Rosie.”
“My Grandma Rosie?”
“They are watching her.”
“Why? What do they think she knows?”
“I don’t know anymore than that. I will try to reach out and help more.”
“Is she in any danger?” Danny asked.
“I hope not. Please go to the mesa and see what may be of interest to these people.” Kira faded from the dream.