With so many emotions lingering from the evening before, Ilika experienced a moment of dread when dawn light and sounds in the plaza woke him.
Then he remembered what day it was.
He quickly dressed and bounded down the stairs a quarter hour before sunrise, where he found the entire innkeeping family, and one extra lad, hard at work. A few trips up and down the stairs brought the easels and other materials to the common room.
As the eastern horizon began to glow, Pica arrived with her drawing supplies. They worked together to arrange the tables and stools so all the candidates could see the easels at the front of the room. Then she set to work building a fire in the fireplace.
Somewhere east of the city the sun rose.
Soon the healers arrived, and Ilika showed them the little storeroom where they began setting up their examining table.
The woodworker and several apprentices carried in the wooden partitions, two long ones for the big tables, three more in the shape of a simple cross for the small tables. Ilika pointed to a corner and paid the agreed-upon price.
About half an hour after sunrise, Sata entered wearing a tattered old dress, and carrying a tray with four mugs.
“Thank you, Sata,” Ilika said, taking a big swallow of the sweet, warm tea.
“It’s about time for you to take off your apron and sit down in here.”
Ilika introduced everyone, and they chatted about the upcoming tasks.
Doti agreed to take charge of getting the slaves seated.
Suddenly the sound of many bare feet pounded across the wooden porch of the inn. Ilika quickly strode to the entrance and directed the roped line of slaves, led by a guard, into the common room.
A few of the slaves made searching eye contact with the strange man in a blue tunic. At the very end of the line, a girl of about thirteen years hobbled along with a crutch, not tied to the rope but trying hard to keep up with the others. As she passed, she gazed into Ilika’s eyes for the longest time of all.
Two more guards brought up the rear.
As soon as the guards untied the rope from the slaves’ wrists, Doti took charge. Ilika ushered the guards out into the corridor, untying the curtains so they would close behind him.
“I have paid the slave master for your time, so you work for me today.
With luck, it should be an easy day for all three of you.”
“Did we hear right that you would feed us?” one guard asked with concern.
“Yes. Here’s a table and stool for one of you to watch the front curtain.
Down here . . .” he said, walking with them along the corridor, “is a table for the other two who will guard the rear curtain and the toilet room.”
When all three men understood their duties, Ilika left them to decide how they would arrange themselves.
The strange young man in a blue tunic, with unusual pale skin and sparkling green eyes, stepped through the front curtain into the common room.
From the two long tables in the middle of the room, twenty pairs of eyes looked at him. Eight more faces turned in his direction from the two small tables at the back. The girl with a crutch and one other had joined Sata at the small table near the front. In all, thirty-one candidates awaited whatever was about to happen.
Pica sat on the hearth, tending the fire, and the healers stood beside the open door to their examining room. Both curtains to the corridor were closed.
The young man standing at the front of the room took a slow, deep breath.
“Good morning. My name is Ilika Imni Zalara Sim. You can call me Ilika.”
Someone in the room giggled.
“That’s right, my name sounds like a girl’s name to you because it ends in an A. Truth is, I come from far, far away. In fact, the entire language in my
. . . kingdom . . . is different from yours. My kingdom is known as Satamia, in a greater region called Nebador.”
He began to stroll among the tables. “I am the captain of a small but very fast ship, and I’m looking for a crew of five special people. It’s a new kind of ship that a slender lad . . .” He tapped the shoulder of the thirteen-year-old freckled boy he had first seen on the auction block. “. . . a lad like this could pilot. Or a girl,” he said, gesturing at a head of tangled brown hair. “Or maybe even someone who has trouble walking,” he said as he returned to the front of the room.
“You are here because I believe some of you might be the sort of people I want for my crew. If I select you, I will give you your freedom. That means you would never again suffer any mistreatment you couldn’t walk away from.”
Murmurs of amazement spread throughout the room.
Ilika waited until silence returned. “Also, I will give you an education in reading, mathematics, chemistry, logic, ethics, and many other things. I will give you the training you need to work on a ship like mine, and an honorable job doing skilled work on one of the most beautiful vessels in existence.”
“Hell no!” a boy of about fifteen blurted out in a whiney voice, standing up.
“I don’t wanna work on no damn boat!” Even though boldly expressing his feelings, he was also cringing, expecting a blow or a lash to strike him.
“No problem,” Ilika said softly. “I won’t take up anyone’s time who doesn’t like the idea. Anyone else feel the same?” he asked the entire room.
“Me . . .” a younger boy said, much more timidly.
“Okay, follow me, you two.”
They started to move toward the rear curtain when suddenly a shaggy black-haired girl of about sixteen years hopped up and ran to the departing boys, hugging one of them. “Bye, Toki!” Then she hugged the other. “Bye!
I’ll miss you!”
“Bye, Kibi. Watch your back.”
Ilika observed from the curtain, but said nothing. Then he took the boys through and one of the guards rose from his stool. “These two can go back.
I’ve paid for their time, so they should not be punished or put to work today.”
As soon as the guards had the task in hand, Ilika returned to the common room. Kibi was already back in her seat.
“So . . . I guess the rest of you are still interested. Here’s the deal. For me to consider you for my ship, you have to let me test you all day today. They are paper and pencil tests, so you just have to think about each question and do your best to figure out the answer.
“Also, you have to let this pair of healers examine you for medical problems. They are gentle and respectful.
“And this is Pica, an artist. She’s going to sketch each of you so I can remember you after you leave tonight.”
He glanced at his notes to see what else he needed to say. “There’s a toilet room through the rear curtain, one person at a time.” He scanned the room to see who was paying attention and who wasn’t. “Any questions?”
“Can I use the dump hole?” a squirrelly-faced girl of about fourteen asked.
Ilika squinted as he figured out her meaning, then smiled. “Just poke your head through the curtain, and the guard will let you through. But for any other questions, I want to see a hand in the air before you speak.”
She nodded and dashed for the curtain.
Ilika saw excited looks on about half the faces in the room. Another eight or ten appeared to be merely putting up with the situation. The rest . . . he couldn’t be sure.
“Okay, let’s have breakfast!”
The front curtain immediately opened and large trays came in, first with mugs of tea, then with steaming bowls of porridge.
Sata started to hop up, then caught herself and settled back onto her stool with an embarrassed grin.
Ilika made sure the guards and his three helpers had been served, then ate while sitting on his table and observing the candidates.
“Honey!” someone whispered loudly. “I haven’t seen any in years!”
“By the way,” Ilika announced, “it’s okay to talk to each other during meals.”
A buzz of amazement broke out. Soon Ilika overheard a comment from
one of the long tables. “Eat it slow, it’s probably all we get today.”
Ilika smiled, but said nothing.
As soon as the breakfast dishes were cleared, Ilika and Tibo lifted the wooden partitions into place. Then, while Pica distributed pads of paper and pencils, Ilika spoke.
“You each have your own private space that no one else can see. Everyone has to find their own answers to the questions. Cheating will get you kicked out.”
He stopped talking. Two of the slaves sitting next to each other, a boy and a girl, had begun a poking match under the table. Ilika waited a moment to see if it would pass. Finally he walked over and tapped them on the shoulders.
“You two are in the wrong place.”
“Aaaawwwww!” the boy moaned as he reluctantly stood.
Again Kibi hopped up to say good-bye, sharing a tender moment with the girl about her age.
“Hang in there, Kibi,” the girl said. “I know you can do this.”
As soon as they departed with a guard, Ilika returned to the front of the room and picked up a pencil. “The black part of these pencils is a metal called lead. It’s a slow poison that can make you blind. Putting them in your mouth or writing on your skin . . . maybe isn’t such a good idea.”
He noticed Pica’s eyes grow wide with worry, almost fear.
“Okay, here we go. Your first sheet is expensive drawing paper for Pica to use. Tear it off and set it aside.”
A tremendous noise filled the room as twenty-seven sheets were ripped off at the same moment. Pica began her first sketch in the back of the room.
“I know most of you can’t write, so I got these thick pencils that are easy to hold. You always have to put the question number before each answer, and this is what the number one looks like.
“Question one. What is your name? When I point to you, tell me your name and I’ll write it on this sheet. You remember which name is yours and copy it to your paper beside the number one. I’ll go first.”
He pointed to himself, and the room exploded with laughter. “Ilika.” He wrote and spelled aloud, “I-L-I-K-A.”
He pointed to the girl with the crutch.
“Mati,” she said shyly.
“M-A-T-I.”
“Gema.”
“G-E-M-A.”
He continued around the room, putting the names on the sheet in the same pattern as the candidates were seated.
The slaves, with few exceptions, gripped their pencils like daggers. Many noises of frustration revealed the effort that went into making, for the first time in their lives, the four letters of their names. Ilika heard strong words he had never heard before, even on the streets of Rumble Town.
Occasionally, after Ilika spelled a name for them, he scribbled the name on a piece of paper on his table. Mati’s name went there, along with Sata’s. Kibi had already caught his attention. The slender, freckled lad was Rini. Miko, about sixteen, looked at the world with penetrating eyes.
Suddenly a snapping noise made everyone look at the large, muscular boy, about fourteen, at one of the back tables. “S . . . sorry. My pencil . . . broke.”
“I have more,” Ilika assured, tossing one to Pica.
“Question two. How old are you?” He wrote the numbers ten through twenty on another large sheet, calling them out as he went.
A boy’s hand went up. “What if we don’t know?”
“Hmm. Make your best guess. Compare yourself to your friends. No harm if you’re off by a little.”
The boy seemed satisfied.
“Question three, is there anyone else in this room that you are close to, whom I must accept if I accept you?”
A hand went up, and a pair of intense, smiling eyes looked at Ilika.
“Miko?”
“My dear sweet Neti!”
Chuckles and giggles filled the room. The girl seated beside him grinned with pride. Ilika pointed to Neti’s name on the name list, and Miko began carefully copying it, letter by letter, onto his answer sheet.
“Anyone
else?”
Neti raised her hand, still smiling.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 83
The room filled with laughter again. Ilika pointed to Miko’s name, then added Neti to his list of interesting candidates.
No other claims were made.
“The healers will start the exams now. Don’t worry if you miss a question or two.”
While Doti called in the first slave, Ilika got his easels ready.
“Okay, a little bit of number work. We’ll pretend we have only five fingers,” he said, holding up an open palm, “instead of the way people in this kingdom really do numbers. That way, the next few questions will be just as hard for those who already know their numbers.”
Sata’s frown would have curdled new milk.
“We’ll use the digits you might already know — zero, one, two, three, and four.” He wrote the digits, and the same number of dots, on a sheet.
A hand went up. “Why are there no dots after the . . . um . . . zero?”
“Zero is the number of horses in this room.”
They all looked around. Most smiled with understanding. A few didn’t.
“Now to make a number, we need more than digits. We need place values.” He drew three boxes. “On the right side of the number is the one’s place. In the middle is the five’s place, our base. And on the left is the number we get when we make a square five by five. Don’t count the number of dots in this square. It won’t help, and it might confuse you.”
“Here’s an example.” He put a large sheet of paper on the other easel, and again drew three boxes.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 84
“We start with the largest place value. First I see two complete squares, so I put a two in the left box.” He could see many eyes flashing back and forth between his example and the list of digits. “Next I see four lines of our base, so I put a four in the middle box. Finally, I see three left-over ones that aren’t part of anything else, so a three goes in the right box. The answer is two-four-three.
“Now it’s your turn. This is question number four.” He put up another sheet, but left the sheet with the digits and place values showing.
During a minute of silence, he scanned the room for cheaters. A few tried, but the partitions made it too difficult.
Suddenly, a boy stood up and whined, “I can’t do this!” Looking around like a frightened animal, he knocked over his stool and started to bolt.
Pica tossed down her drawing board and grabbed the lad. She wrapped her arms around him as he wilted into tears and sobs.
“I always do my work!” he poured out. “I never goof off!”
Ilika stayed at the front, seeing that the artist was doing all that could be done. A guard poked his head into the room, but Ilika waved him away.
“You know what?” Pica asked when the lad had finally gained some distance from his feelings.
“What?”
“This isn’t work. We all have work we have to do, but today, you can sit all day long, not answer any of the questions, and just eat the good food.”
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 85
“You’re sure?” he asked with disbelief.
“She’s right,” Ilika said from the front. “Everyone, even the smartest of you, will find questions you can’t answer. Not everyone on my ship needs to be good at numbers. Just do what you can, and you might find that some questions are easy for you, even if this one is not.”
As Pica led the sensitive boy back to his place, Ilika looked at the name chart, and put Pomi on the special list, somewhat separate from the names already there.
“I did a lot of the work for you on that last question by making it all neat and organized. The real world isn’t always like that.”
Several of the slaves moaned when they saw the new sheet. Ilika also noticed two or three who wrote down the answer quickly, including the squirrelly-faced girl with tangled hair. While the rest were working, he added Buna to his private list.
“For question six, I’ll give you the number, you answer with dots. The number is one-four-two,” he said, and wrote it on a large sheet.
Ilika strolled around the room as some of them carefully made rows of dots, others fidgeted. Eventually everyone appeared to have answered, or given up. Just then, the innkeeper entered.
“Tear off a sheet,” Ilika said. “Pica will collect them, and we’ll take a break for a snack.”
The room filled with cheers at the mention of food. Trays of assorted early fruits arrived, and the slaves were amazed that they could choose any piece they wanted.
“Now we’ll do some questions that don’t have right or wrong answers, but will help me know what kind of people you are. Question seven. When you are with your friends, with no masters or parents around, do you (A) mostly talk, or (B) mostly listen to others talk? Here’s what an A looks like, for
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 86
mostly talk, and here’s a B, for mostly listen.”
He gave them a few moments.
“Question eight. Which is more interesting to you, (A) the thoughts and feelings inside you, or (B) the people and things outside of you?”
While doing this part of the test, Ilika was also paying attention to the personality factors he could directly observe, and making little symbols next to their names on the chart.
“Question nine. When making big decisions, do you most often (A) think them through, or (B) follow your heart?”
A girl’s hand came up timidly. “Is it really true there aren’t any wrong answers to these questions, and no matter how we answer them, it won’t make any difference?”
“It’s
really
true.”
“So . . .” the girl continued, “that means we don’t have to do them!”
Ilika grinned. “You’re right!” As he looked around the room, he saw plenty of others rolling their eyes. “Question ten. Do you (A) make decisions quickly and easily, or (B) like to think about them for a long time?”
The rest of the personality questions were just as painless, although two or three slaves spent the time cleaning their fingernails.
“Okay,” Ilika began, putting up a new sheet. “If I rotate the drawing at the top, which of the other four drawings can it become?” He demonstrated rotation with a small piece of paper, just to be sure they understood. “Only one answer is right.”
Pomi looked much happier, and his pencil approached his answer sheet.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 87
“If I look in a mirror at the drawing on top, which of the other four drawings can I see? Your imaginary mirror can be placed anywhere you want.”
Ilika noticed several of the slaves who weren’t making much of an effort, including those who skipped the personality questions.
“Which of the four drawings at the bottom of the sheet can be found somewhere inside the drawing at the top?”
Sata appeared to be finding answers to most of the questions, even though
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 88
she often squirmed on her stool.
“Which of these four drawings is completely contained inside itself at a different size?”
After a minute of troubled silence, several candidates had moments of insight that made them laugh out loud.
Ilika checked with the guards, occupying themselves with playing cards.
They reported no problems. He poked his head into the kitchen, and Mosa nodded.
Ilika returned to the common room. “Shall we eat lunch?”
“Yeah!” they all answered at once.
Pica and Doti collected the pads of paper, and as soon as the partitions were lifted off the tables, a lively chatter began.
Some of the slaves were in a very lighthearted mood because they had already given up.
A few, including Sata, were very quiet at this point. They had started with high hopes of earning a place on Ilika’s ship, but had been shocked by the difficulty of the questions, and were now beginning to rethink their chances.
A few looked confused. They had never before excelled at anything, but to their amazement, the answers to Ilika’s questions were coming to them, and quickly.
Bowls of hearty stew came out of the kitchen, followed by fresh bread and sticks of hard cheese, then mugs of sweet, fruity tea.
As the eating and chatting continued, Ilika conferred with his helpers. The healers hadn’t found anything too terrible, except Mati’s knee, but mentioned that head lice were common. Ilika shrugged with ignorance, so they laughed and promised to explain it to him later.
Ilika and Tibo lifted the partitions back onto the tables as Doti and Pica
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 89
passed out the pads of paper.
“I want Mati, Luba, Tiko, and Boro to come sit at my table,” Ilika announced. “The rest of you get to copy this drawing.”
Some faces in the room showed excitement, others dread.
Once the four slaves settled onto stools at the front table, Ilika grabbed an extra stool and squeezed in at the corner.
“I’ll give you a situation, you talk about it and decide what you would do.
If you disagree with others, you can try to convince them you are right. No one’s ideas will be right or wrong to me. I’m just going to listen.”
The four looked at each other.
“You are in a room, doing your work. There are two doors into the room, and some empty crates. A little girl runs in, yells, ‘Help me!’ and hides in one of the crates. A moment later an ugly man runs in the same door, holds up a big, bloody knife, and grumbles, ‘Where is she?’”
Ilika fell silent and leaned back.
The four looked at each other again and the silence lengthened. They looked at Ilika, but he said nothing.
“Um . . .” Boro began. “Our masters always want us to tell the truth. But we don’t, except when it doesn’t really matter.”
“That’s because they always use it against us,” Mati added, “or against one of our friends.”
“He’s obviously going to kill the girl,” Luba said, “so I’d tell him she went
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 90
out the other door.”
“I’d
just
kill
him,” Tiko said.
They stopped and glanced at Ilika. He continued to listen.
“Yeah, and you’d get beheaded for murder!” Luba burst out.
The arguments went on for another ten minutes, and Ilika was very happy with the information he gained about the ethical values and communication skills of the four slaves. He released them and returned to the front of the room.
“Buna, Sora, Miko, and Kodi are at the table. The rest of you will be doing another fun drawing,” he said, and put up a large sheet. “You have only these lines and shapes to work with, and you need to make something artistic, something expressive. You can turn the lines and shapes any way you want, even connect them or overlap them.”
“That sounds like fun! Can I do it too?” Pica asked with a big smile.
Everyone
laughed.
“After you get your sketches done,” Ilika replied with a grin.
He gave the second group the same ethical situation and leaned back to listen.
Not one single slave, in any of the groups, thought a person should tell the truth in any situation, regardless of the consequences. Sata started out with that opinion, but the others in her group were able to convince her that life wasn’t that simple.
Most of those on Ilika’s special list gave thoughtful answers, communicated well, and made some attempt to help the girl. Mati and Kibi both had trouble sharing their views with those who had a different opinion, but were willing to risk their own safety for the little girl.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 91
A few made the mistake of revealing where the girl was hiding in an effort to protect her. Others pointed out that they had just condemned her to death.
Rini suggested that the man was her father, he was angry because she hadn’t done the dishes, and he was carrying the bloody knife as an example.
This led to a lively debate, but Ilika could see his tiny smile.
When everyone had returned to their seats, Pica ran to the front of the room and cried, “Help me!” in a little girl’s voice, then hid behind an easel.
Everyone laughed as trays of sweet biscuits arrived from the kitchen.
Ilika returned to the front of the room. “Everyone know what a relationship is?”
Miko and Neti raised their hands.
Ilika laughed deeply. “I’m using the word in a general sense.” He started drawing on a sheet at the easel. “This is a hand, and this is a glove. They have a relationship. A hand goes in a glove, and the glove protects the hand.” He scanned the room to see if they were following him, then started to draw again. “This is a foot . . .”
Six hands shot up, closely followed by five more, with another ten coming more slowly.
“Wonderful! Hand is related to glove, as foot is related to . . . shoe or boot.
That one was easy. Now we will get a little more serious.
“Question thirty-four. Rider is related to horse, as crate is related to (A) donkey, (B) wagon, (C) nail, or (D) cargo.” He drew simple sketches of the four possibilities, then repeated the entire question.
“Question thirty-five. Shovel is related to mine, as broom is related to (A) dust, (B) handle, (C) house, or (D) cat.”
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 92
Ilika judged he had chosen about the right difficulty level. Many were getting answers, but not too easily.
The loud snapping sound came from the back of the room again, and Boro grinned with embarrassment. Ilika tossed him another pencil.
“Question thirty-six. Flame is related to wick as wheel is related to (A) circle, (B) cart, (C) axle, or (D) wood.”
The questions continued, becoming more and more difficult. Soon, few pencils were touching paper.
“Question forty-one uses drawings instead of words. These first two drawings are related to each other, as this one is related to A, B, C, or D.”
When enough time had passed, Ilika took a deep breath. “Let’s do something that doesn’t have right or wrong answers, so you can rest your brains. These are all T for true, or F is for false, in your opinion.” He drew a smiling face next to a T and a frowning face next to an F. The room filled with chuckles.
“Question forty-two. Crying is just for babies.”
Several of them appeared thoughtful. Pomi looked like he would rather be under the table.
“Question forty-three. If you make a mistake, you are bad.”
Many of the slaves cringed at the thought.
“Question forty-four. Life is good.”
“Have
you ever been a slave?” Buna burst out, not even bothering to put
up her hand.
All the other slaves held their breath.
“No, I haven’t,” Ilika replied thoughtfully.
“Then how can you ask a question like that, and expect us to answer it honestly? That’s not fair.”
“Okay . . .” Ilika began. “I think I see your point. It wouldn’t be fair for me to judge your answers without having had a life experience similar to yours.
Do I understand you correctly?”
Buna’s mouth opened with surprise. “Uh . . . yeah.”
“Let me try to clarify and see if that makes you comfortable with the question. I am not asking if the details of your present lives are good. They are not. I am asking if you think that life, in general, is a good thing to have, even though it is sometimes wonderful, and sometimes terrible.”
Buna swallowed. “Okay . . . I can answer that.”
After a moment, Ilika continued. “Question forty-five. If you feel angry, you should hit someone.”
A couple of boys swung fists in the air, obviously delighted by the idea.
Ilika wasn’t worried, as neither had put much effort into the test, nor were they on his private list. The true or false questions continued for another quarter hour.
“Question eighty-one. Every person, regardless of status, deserves respect.”
They all answered that one easily, and Ilika was not at all surprised.
“You guys are fantastic!” Ilika said. “I thought I’d come to this part of the afternoon, and most of you would be asleep. You have certainly earned this day off work and the good food we are sharing.
“This last part is about language. You have all done the hard part — you have learned a spoken language. Even though you have not yet learned to read and write, we’re going to play with some words by translating from one language to another. Here’s your word list.”
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 94
“While you are translating, it doesn’t matter if you remember what the words mean. I’ll do one for you.” He put up another sheet. “RED DOG
RUNS FAST. First I look for RED and find TIM, then DOG and find FOTOR.
RUN gives me KEES, and FAST is WI. So the answer is TIM FOTOR KEES
WI.”
The room erupted with laughter at the strange words.
Buna’s hand shot up. “Is this how you talk in your kingdom?”
Ilika smiled. “No, but my language would sound just as strange to you.
Okay, question eighty-two. Translate this.” He put up another sheet and read aloud, “BLUE FISH SWIMS DEEP.”
He waited. Scanning the room, he could see that only four or five candidates were working on the translation. Pica finished the last sketch. A few minutes later, a boy emerged from the examining room, and the healers sat down on the hearth.
“Question eighty-three. Try the other direction, the foreign language into your language. PIL DILEM DEEK TU.”
Ilika quietly strolled around the room for several minutes so they would have plenty of time. “Long enough?”
“No!” Kibi barked, concentrating on what she was writing in crude block letters.
Ilika took another minute to organize the stacks of paper on his table.
“How about now?”
“Almost,” Sata declared, scratching out a word.
Doko peeked through the front curtain, so Ilika went over and whispered with him for a moment.
“Now?” Ilika asked, addressing the room again.
“Okay!” Kibi and Sata both said. Everyone else had already put down their pencils.
“We are done.”
“HOORAY!” twenty-six slaves and one innkeeper’s daughter cheered all at once.
Doti collected the pads for the last time, and Pica gathered the pencils.
The partitions were lifted and set in the corner. Several slaves lined up to use the toilet room, or stood just to stretch.
Bowls of hot soup arrived, then plates with grilled bread and melted cheese, a little sliced meat, and a good serving of cooked vegetables. Smiles lit up their faces, replacing all the tension and frustration of the test. Their amazement reached a peak when small cups of ale appeared.
With the test out of the way, the slaves were more talkative than ever.
They had begun their own testing of this strange ship’s captain with a weird girl’s name, and many impressions were shared in words spoken too quietly for any of the adults to catch.
As the dishes were cleared and the tables wiped, Ilika sent Pica to the bakery. Everyone received a tasty plum tart, still warm, and the room fell very quiet as the pastries were lovingly savored. Once fingers were licked clean, an anxious mood settled over the entire room.
Miko raised his hand. “When will we know?”
“Tomorrow at about noon,” Ilika replied.
After a long moment of silence, Pica began wandering around the room, looking into the eyes of the candidates, sharing a hand clasp, a shoulder pat, or an embrace, and speaking a few words of good wishes for the future. Her example prompted Ilika and the healers to do likewise.
After Ilika had shared a parting moment with all the rest, Kibi stood before him. Their eyes met for a long moment, then she slipped her arms around him and held him close.
His heart leapt inside him and he held her shaggy head tightly to his shoulder. After a few moments, they parted and looked into each other’s eyes
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 96
again.
When Pica saw them part, she opened the rear curtain to the corridor. The guards entered with their rope and began herding the slaves into line. Kibi was shaking as she let go of Ilika and went to join the rest.
After blinking a few times, Ilika joined his helpers and Sata on the hearth.
None of the slaves looked back. The human chain filed out, one guard at the front, two at the rear where Mati hobbled along with her crutch, trying desperately to keep up.
Their feet pounded once more on the wooden porch of the inn, then there was silence, save for the crackling of the fire and the muffled sound of someone doing dishes in the kitchen.
Deep Learning Notes
When the thirty slaves first entered the common room, what assumptions
about the situation did they probably have because of their previous life experience?
Two boys quickly decided they didn’t want to work on a boat. By making their decision so quickly, what benefits did they miss that all the others received?
Did you find that base five counting was just as easy as our usual base ten, or did it give you trouble? Remember, as Ilika advised, not to count the dots in the square, as you’ll probably use base ten out of habit, and get “twenty-five.”
There are really one hundred dots in the square — one hundred in base five, that is.
The personality questions are aimed at the four factors of the Myers-Briggs personality type system. Question seven is (A) extraverted or (B) introverted, question eight is (A) intuitive or (B) sensing, question nine is (A) thinking or (B) feeling, and question ten is (A) judging or (B) perceiving. The author is an introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving type, fairly common for writers and artists. If you do not know your type, it is fairly easy to determine using tests available on the internet.
Each spatial-relationship question requires different thinking skills. Rotation (23) is fairly easy for most people, but finding a correct mirror image (24) is difficult even for people who own several mirrors (which the slaves did not).
Correctly identifying a detail (25) can be done with careful, methodical elimination, but seeing recursion (26) requires a leap to a completely different thinking process.
The drawing projects tested right-brain functioning and the connections between the two halves of the brain. People with poor brain hemisphere connections might be able to think about something, but are often unable to express it.
The ethical question Ilika posed is usually called “The Inquiring Murderer,”
and is designed to test a number of values, most notably the limits of honesty.
People who grow up in a safe middle- or upper-class society are usually taught that “honesty is the best policy,” even though it may not actually be practiced by adults. Even lip-service to that value breaks down in poorer or rougher society, and in nature. The slaves had little trouble seeing that honesty was not appropriate in the given situation.
Relationship or analogy problems (34 - 41) can use words or graphics, and require making inferences, and then mapping those inferences to a different situation.
The true-false questions are just a few bits and pieces from psychological tests and values assessments. Although experience has taught us (and Ilika’s civilization) that certain attitudes are danger signs, it remains a mystery who will actually make a good friend, partner, or crew member.
Language questions are very important because some aspects of intelligence only show themselves in the more “social” context of communication.
Suddenly we see Sata, frustrated by some of the earlier questions, leaping to the front of the “class” beside Kibi, who is six years older.
Chapter 16: Making Sense of It All
“Head lice are little bugs that live in your hair,” Doti explained. “Most of the slaves have them. Kibi is the worst. That means you now have them, Ilika.”
He laughed out loud.
“I saw Sata and Pica doing some hugging too,” Doti continued, “so I’m talking to both of you, also. Do you want me to take care of the little critters, or can you sleep and scratch your heads at the same time?” she teased with a smirk.
Ilika grinned back. “Yes, please, and any other health problems you can treat in the ones I select.”
“That starts tonight. My dear partner will fetch me the potion I need.
Then I’ll treat the ones you buy once a week for four weeks.”
Chuckling to himself, Tibo strode out the door.
“I have a pool of warm water reserved at noon tomorrow,” Ilika said.
“The bath house near the slave market? I know it. I’ll be there.”
Ilika looked around the common room. “Let’s organize these papers, and when Tibo gets back, you can treat Sata first so she can go.”
They all set to work spreading out the sheets on the big tables, one pile for each group of questions.
The bottle of lice potion soon arrived, so Doti took Sata aside and started combing the dark green oil into her hair, and instructing the girl on what to do with her clothes.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 100
When they finished the sorting, Ilika excused Sata, asking her to arrange for his bath an hour later. Pica planned to bathe at home, but was glad for the potion that Doti combed into her hair.
Once Sata was out of the room, Ilika placed the stacks of paper before him and began turning pages until he came to someone he wanted to talk about.
“Mati. Thirteen, no attachments, worked really hard on the tests. Medical?”
“No lice,” Doti said, “and no specific ailments other than the knee, but a number of signs of poor nutrition.”
“What can you tell me about the knee?”
“She says it’s been like that all her life, so it must have happened in early childhood. It’s an injury, not a deformity, and can’t support any weight. She says she knows how to keep it from hurting, but any pressure causes pain.”
“The other knee is good?”
“Yes, but over-worked because of the bad one. It might fail early in life.”
“Could she ride a horse?”
The healer thought for a moment. “I think so, although she might need help mounting.”
“Okay. General impressions, anyone.”
“A little shy,” Pica said, “but full of feelings that she’d love to express.”
Ilika made notes as his helpers spoke.
“Yes, she wants to do something with her hands, I think,” Tibo said.
“And very determined to succeed,” Doti added, “although she hasn’t the foggiest idea how.”
“Got along well with Sata,” Pica observed.
There was silence, so Ilika turned a few more pages.
“Toli, nineteen, no attachments. Medical?”
Ilika’s helpers confirmed most of his observations about the candidates.
During the discussions of the last few, he submitted to having the green oil combed into his hair.
Pica’s work was done. Ilika paid her five great silver pieces, and she thanked him for the information about lead, sharing that most of her pencils and some of her paints contained the metal. Then she collected her sketch box and coat, and headed home.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 101
Ilika thanked the healers for their skills and insights, and paid them for the exams and the lice treatments. They took up their examining table and walked back to their home in Rumble Town.
After the healers had departed, Doko entered. “Is all your business done?”
“Yes. These wooden partitions may be broken up for firewood.”
“Thank you. I don’t think Sata will sleep tonight. She took a bath, with lots of soap, as instructed. Your bath is ready as soon as you are.”
“Good. Let us sit so I can settle my account with you.”
“What shall we drink?” the innkeeper offered.
“Tea. I still have hours of work tonight.”
The innkeeper left, and soon returned with two mugs of hot, sweet tea. He added up the charges, and Ilika counted out the coins.
“I will cover any other problems that arise because of the lice . . .” Ilika began.
“Bah! We have had lice around many times and know what to do. Your slaves were not much dirtier than some of our guests.”
They both laughed, then drank their tea in silence for a moment.
Suddenly Sata bounced into the room. “Do you know yet if I can be on your crew?” she asked excitedly.
“Is it tomorrow yet, at the eleventh hour of the morning?” Ilika asked, giving her a stern but kindly look.
“Sorry . . .” she said and scurried out of the room.
Ilika took his bath and plunged his clothes into a kettle of hot, soapy water, just as Sata had done before him.
Up in the large sleeping room, with all the stacks of answer sheets spread out on the beds and a fresh mug of tea on the table, he began by making a scoring chart on a large sheet of paper. Each row began with the name of a candidate he was still, in any way, considering. A column for their ages came next, then columns for each of the groups of test questions.
For the next three hours, Ilika of Satamia dug his way through stack after stack of answer sheets. Some of the groups of test questions were easy to score — the answers were either right or wrong.
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 102
The personality questions took more time, but mostly agreed with what he had observed. When they did not, he put down both symbols.
The psychological questions gave him the most trouble. A separate chart allowed him to scan the answers for patterns. An hour later, he felt he had extracted what he could from them. Some of the slaves had developed some very dark attitudes about life. He just had to decide which of those dark attitudes ruled them out as potential crew members . . . and which made them even more interesting.
When he finally completed his scoring chart, he pinned it to an easel and looked at it. The chart, his notes, and his memories were all he had. If he could not make the selection, he would have failed, and all his efforts and expenses would be for nothing.
He stared at the chart for another quarter hour. Still nothing came to him.
He had no idea how to pick five crew members out of the twenty-seven possibilities.
Then he realized what was happening. His eyes were barely focusing, and his eyelids were starting to close against his will. He had been awake for nineteen hours, but now he was losing all ability to think clearly and creatively. He might be able to stare at the chart and his notes awhile longer, but it would do him no good. No insights would be forthcoming, no decision possible.
So he left the chart on the easel, crawled into bed, and was instantly asleep.
Deep Learning Notes
While dealing with the head lice, they used the word “potion” where we would use the word “medicine.” What is the difference between the two as we use the words today? Is that difference relevant to the situation in the story?
Ilika’s attempt to make a decision, that evening, shows an interesting aspect of creative thinking. He had all the information in front of him, and could have forced himself (or used his device) to do any calculation. The problem,
NEBADOR Book One: The Test 103
however, was far too complex for any procedural (or programmed) thinking process. He experienced the same thing any artist experiences: there are times when the mind does not have sufficient clarity, or sources of inspiration are not available. The only solution is to eat, play, sleep, wait, and otherwise allow the clarity and inspiration to come in their own time.
