What If the Earth was the other way...?

Around Kliptora in forty days!

Nathalia Avra 

Day 1 through 5 : Edbranch.

At 10 pm (or 4th hour according to Kliptoran time), we started walking through the streets of Edbranch. The streets are super clean and paved tiles of some sort. I can't find trees or any sort of plantation on the streets. Everything looks white. The buildings all look the same and there are no skyscrapers to be found. The buildings are marked with symbols rather than signboards. 

Tony informed me that the tiles on either side of the road were called foot plates and they power up the entire planet using kinetic energy produced by walking. How cool is that? 

The vehicles hover a foot above the ground. Tony explains that the tiles are actually magnets and they use magnetic levitation as a means of energy and they were called levi-tiles. I really would love to know how the mechanism is and maybe write about it. Who knows, maybe that would be a conventional method on Earth too. 

We reached the facility we slept in last "day" and he offered me a pair of clothes which I didn't want to wear but since I really need to change and my bag is not with me now, I decided to wear it. I took a quick shower and I was not expecting warm water coming through the tap. Some things stay similar between worlds, I guess. I wear those cotton karate pants and shirts and I must say, they are really comfortable! It is  white and it is really a perfect fit. It is full sleeved and I could really feel a net-like lining around the neckline but I can't see anything there that stands out. I got back in, just in time to see Tony preparing a small bag.

"Whatcha doing?"

He looks at me utterly emotionless and I stare back.

"I mean, what are you doing?" I smile and pronounce each word slowly.

"I was preparing a small bag for you to carry along. I have put in some currency notes if you feel like buying some souvenirs and I also have put a notepad if you want to jot down something during the tour. A water bottle, so you can be hydrated and you can add any of your belongings, once you get them. Switch has made sure you get the best experience of Kliptora." He explains.

"Ah," I say and sit down on my bed.

"Today, we begin our tour. And as your tour guide, I would like to propose some rules."

"Rules for tours?" I shake my shoulder and c**k my eyebrow at him.

He just stares at me the whole time.

"Come on! Not even a cringe?" I sigh exasperatedly at even trying to get a reaction from him.

"What do you mean by cringe?" He asks.

I cringe and then say, "That's  a cringe."

He tries to impersonate me and then fail miserably.

"Nevermind that. What are the rules?" I cut him off.

"Yes. The first one is to be on track, the second is to be attentive and the third is to savour every moment as you may not get another chance!"

"Creative rules!"

"Let's begin."

I nodded. That's how the next forty days began. Every continent was beautiful in its own way and every single Kliptoran maintained that expressionless face and warm-hearted hospitality.

Day one to five, we spent time in Edbranch. We went around a building called Soil- 141 first. It is a one storey building with rooms on either side of a huge corridor. There were training rooms, recreational rooms and a mess. The rest were called bunkrooms. I hoped inside one to see four bunk beds and four shelves stacked parallel to each other. There was a  washroom to the left corner which was really spacious. The training room is technically a gym room. They like fitness. Recreational room had a large monitor in the middle and many pieces of furniture haphazardly kept. There is some kind of vending machine on all four corners, some tablets lay here and there and some Kliptorans sitting lazily here and there.

Tony explains that there are twenty-four soldiers residing in this building and all are below sixty years of age.

According to Kliptorans, being a soldier is like the greatest opportunity and the most responsible job. They run the ports around Kliptora, are allowed to go to restricted places like grasslands, forests, lakes etc. (Why on Kliptora would they restrict those places?)

Above all, they hold a chance to participate in elections to become the next ruler. 

Wormhole travelling actually doesn't cause any side effects to your circadian rhythm, as I still felt sleepy when it is night in Kliptora and very active during the day. So it really was exhausting to be awake during the night and sleep during the day. 

But, i am sure I'll get used to it by the end of forty days, considering  I will be travelling all around the globe.

There are like seven soldier camps and day one mostly went by visiting them. Why visit all the soldier camps? Well, Tony wanted to see Tina and he was quite not sure which camp she belonged to, and he also mentioned they are where the ports are situated. There are seven ports, so seven camps.

 It wasn't totally a waste. We did find Tina and she chatted with us a few moments before telling us that she will be with us touring the continents. Well, she knows Kliptora better than Tony. 

Day two opened up the opportunity of seeing a concert. Tony said that he had tickets for a show at the sixteenth hour(10 am). Well, nature does love music, so I said I would be delighted in joining him. 

At exactly 10 am, he came and took me to the concert. The concert hall was quite cool. It was octagon in shape and the stage was layered in seven different layers of varying width. I took my seat in front. The floor was white. I think Kliptorans love everything in white.

Soon a woman appeared and after a brief introduction, she started directing water in between the seven layers and it created a lot of patterns. Sometimes the water sprouted colours, and sometimes it stayed colourless. She started to sing and continued directing the water like a conductor in an orchestra. The gurgling water made it hard to follow the lyrics and rhythm of her song. I didn't quite like it. It would've been cooler with an instrument or was just an acapella without the gurgling and giggling water. But it seems I'm the only one who is not enjoying this concert. Everyone was staring at the colourless waters and I sat simply, not knowing what's happening, at least I understood how aliens sing!

After she finished singing, she gestured at where I was sitting and called out, 

"We have a visitor, from another planet in our midst. I would really like to know your opinion about our music."

Everyone present there looked at me. It was like shining a spotlight at me. I nervously smile and rise up. I walk towards the stage. Tony looks at me and nods. I don't get why most of the time, Tony nods. Maybe it is how these guys communicate. 

For the first time, I see the lady who sang clearly. She had bright orange red hair like the setting sun. Her eyes were blue like a swimming pool. She was also slimy but she was fair. She wore a violet dress, the material looked like velvet, just like what Switch wore. I guess that clothing material is expensive here. 

She offered me her mic,  which she detaches from her dress. It looked like a mic, a violet mic. I take it from her hands.

I cleared my throat and spoke, "Hello Kliptorans. I just want to say, thank you for your hospitality. I really appreciate it. I really liked your music. The lyrics were great, the water was perfectly synchronised and yes, it was great."

"We would really love to hear one of the  Earthen songs." She encouraged me.

If you know me personally, you would have told the aliens, it was a bad idea, but since I was alone, I smile and say, "I actually, am not a good singer."

"Come on. Everyone has music inside them. Let it out." She persisted.

I breathe in slowly and let the cool air out my nostril. I hold the mic close to me and start singing.

"Ayiram, kannumayi, kathirunnu ninne njan…" It was a Malayalam song. It was a song from the nineties, and the rough translation of the song was that, I miss you, come home. It was a song from a movie in which the heroine's grandma sang to her granddaughter how much she missed her and how many times she just waited outside her house looking for her to come back home.

It resonated with me. I suddenly felt homesick. I missed mom and dad. I missed my home in Calicut, Tongo… My friends in India, Brittany. I missed everyone. I sang my heart out. For some reason I didn't go out of tune. I didn't stutter. I sang perfectly. I sang and for once, I didn't feel embarrassed of my voice. I finished the lyrics and I heard a thunder of claps. I looked at everyone present there. 

Tony looked at me. His face held a tiny smile. That is when I realised I could sing. I looked at the lady. She nodded.

"You sing beautifully. And that song really held a lot of meaning, although I didn't understand the lyrics." 

I nod back. I was still filled with adrenaline. As I walked towards my sit, my face blushed and my hands were sweaty. I held that smile for the rest of the day.

After the concert was over, Tony asked me about the concert. I thought of answering honestly to him. 

"Well, I liked her voice but I couldn't understand the role of that water and why the song didn't have any background music."

" The tune is produced by the water as it acts as the instrument -" 

"Wait, those colourless water that sprang up making a gurgling sound was the instrument!?"

"Colourless? You call it colourless!?  You didn't see the colours that were produced?"

"No. Well as per science, there are lots of colours which cannot be preserved by human eyes."

"Maybe that could be a reason"

"Now I am curious. How do you actually produce music with colours?" 

"We have the fundamental seven notes of music and the fundamental seven colours. It has a correlation with each other. The variations and mixing of notes produce different wavelengths of colours. It is so delightful you see. Preethy is a prominent musician in all of Kliptora. She uses up to twenty-seven different colours in one song!"

"So, there were like twenty-seven different colours that made all those patterns colourful? Wow!"

Tony nodded.

Kliptorans are fascinating. We make music with seven musical notes and they make music with colours! A kind of "synesthesia " and it seems like everyone here has that.  It's quite incredible.

"If at all, I could experience them."  I sighed.

We walked back to the "stay home", as Tony calls the facility. I was totally exhausted and it was daytime in Kliptora and that means I got to sleep!

Day three, I was much fresher than the other days.  I got up, freshened up and then Tony brought me my breakfast. I had it and then followed him. The food here was really something. It always makes me gwak. The nightlife was awesome. The streets were filled with men and women, walking here and there. Unique vehicles went this way and that. The only thing I felt odd was that I didn't find any children around.

"Doesn't Kliptorans have children?" I asked. 

"Oh! Kliptorans do have children. But you won't find any of them here. The people with high esteem live here. They represent all the other continents, risk their lives sustaining others and rule."

I nodded. 

For the next three days, we saw Edbranch to its fullest. We visited the hospital wing, the library and many other places. 

It was fascinating to see that books were not at all made of paper but with purely electronic devices. One tablet as one book. Once, the tablet is in the library, no one gets to edit it. But they could highlight, bookmark or even write notes once you have bought the book.

The hospital wing is completely automated and with professionals. Edbranch could be called an "advanced developed country" if it were on earth. 

Its pollution-free vehicles are fully run by hydrogen gas and magnetic levitation. 

The fountains are an art lover's delight and the painting galleries are so mesmerizing. I totally loved this nightlife. All I couldn't enjoy was their music. Anyways I just loved the five days in Edbranch.