Early the next morning Jinwoon was awakened by the others getting ready. Hara, the Yoon brothers, five soldiers and an Elder called Samak took an Elep to the sandlands. Samak was raised in the sandland but he and the village moved after it became barren.
Hara said that they would try to come back the next day but Jinwoon told them to take their time. "You never know what you might find there. It's a big place and we need as much information as possible. Do a thorough search."
After breakfast Jinwoon took Hyung Woo's book and went to find Abin. He found her at the back of the village teaching a few children. Jinwoon found a large rock nearby and sat down, he didn't understand all of it because Abin was using words Jinwoon hadn't heard before.
Two hours later Abin dismissed the children. "Jinwoon? What can I do for you?" She turned towards where he was sitting. Jinwoon was amazed by Abin's ability. He was wondering if she would agree to a body scan. "Yes, It's me."
He knew that some visually impaired people can use human echolocation to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects, by actively creating sounds. He wanted to know if Abin was doing the same but it wasn't a priority.
"Elder Abin, can you help me?" Abin had a soft smile on her face. "What can I help you with?" She walked towards Jinwoon and sat next to him. "Hyung Woo wrote a list with village names. I was wondering if you could tell me something about them?"
Jinwoon opened the book before flipping to the correct page. The list contained around hundred and twenty names. Jinwoon already knew where they were but he wanted to know if they were still there. "That is no problem." Jinwoon called out the first village. "Enod."
"Enod, that is sadly no more. That village was four days to the north with an Elep. Many of the people here are from there." Adin explained more. This went on until Jinwoon had named all the villages. He was shocked to discover that more than half was gone.
"Are they really all gone?" Abin gave a sad nod. "What about the people who lived there?" Abin was quiet for a few seconds. "Some have been taking in by other tribes, just like the Enod but majority have lost their live or are taken."
Abin let out a deep sigh. Jinwoon didn't know what to say. "I'm not sad. My people will one day be strong again. Now that you and your people are here I'm sure we can beat the Jinoco and save my people." She gently patted Jinwoon's hand.
Jinwoon didn't know how to replay. He wanted to help the Pahodu people but he wasn't sure if Sung Hoon and the other soldiers would be willing to go to the Jinoco home planet to fight them. They didn't even know if the people who were taken were still alive.
Adin laughed. "Let's take things one step at a time." Jinwoon started to believe that Abin could read his mind. "What were you teaching the children?" He changed the subject. Abin started to draw complicated symbols in the sand.
"Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra arose from a great lake during a great time of darkness. His purpose was to bring forth light and creation. He created the sun, the moon, and the stars. He also created the first man out of stone by breathing life into them.
He was unhappy with how emotionless and uninspired the giant rocks were, so he destroyed them during a great flood. After the flood, he created another set of men out of smaller, smoother stones.
When this creation was done, Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra walked on the waters of the Great Ocean until he was out of man's sight. Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra wandered all across the earth in various disguises.
He wandered the earth disguised as a beggar, teaching his new creations the basics of civilization, as well as working numerous miracles. Many, however, refused to follow his teachings, devolving into warfare and delinquency.
Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra wept when he saw the plight of the creatures he had created. He had many children who began great civilizations. It is taught that Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra comes back during times of great despair and turmoil. [The Andean Incan origin story]
Jinwoon was surprised to know that the Pohadu also had a great flood. Abin had drawn Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra wearing the sun for a crown, with thunderbolts in his hands, and tears descending from his eyes as rain.
'Zeus was also god of thunder... Are these people... Just because they had a flood origin and their god has thunderbolts doesn't mean they were Earthlings.' Jinwoon's eyes grew big. "You don't think I'm Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra?!"
Abin was quiet. "I'm not him." Abin still didn't say anything. "Elder Abin..." Abin turned to him. "Some of the others think that your mate or his brother might be Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra." Jinwoon did know if he should cry or laugh.
As long as they didn't think he was Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra, then he didn't care. He couldn't wait to tell Sung Hoon and Sung Joon. He decided to tell them later that evening but before that, he needed to talk to the scientist that was left.
"Elder Abin. Thank you for all your help. Me and the others are going to decide what we are going to do first. If you have any more suggestions, please feel free to tell us." Jinwoon stood up and dusted his pants.
"I'm happy with whatever you do. I'll be here if you need my help." "Then I'll see you later." Jinwoon started to walk but turned around to see Abin staring at the sky. 'Wonder if she can see something we can't see?'
Abin turned to him and waved. Jinwoon looked confused but waved back. He turned and walked back to the large tent. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw a lot of equipment in the tent. "How is it going here?"
The scientist turned around and started to talk at the same time. Jinwoon held his hand to stop them. "One at the time. Jin Jun, you start." Jin Jun was standing in front of a screen. "These are the findings of Hara and the Yoon brothers!"
"It's amazing. It shows that the sandlands used to be a large lake, maybe even an ocean." Jin Jun pointed at the findings. "We had been wondering why there were no large waters in here but they were just buried!"
Jinwoon was also surprised. "How can that be?" Another persoon shot his hand up. "Min Jun?" Min Jun gave them a big smile. "From what Hara and the Yoon brother's have discovered I'm sure it all has to do with the Jinoco."
He cast his findings on the large screen. "Do you see this." He pointed at different points." Jinwoon nodded. "What are those?" Min Jin's brows went up. "Those are torpedo holes!" Jinwoon looked confused.
"I don't know if they did it on purpose or not but by bombarding this place over and over, they have created underground pockets where the water has drained down to. That's why the place became a desert."
"We don't even have to dig. We can use the teleport to teleport the water, fill up the underground pockets and the sea will come back." Jinwoon looked skeptical. "We'll have to terraform the sand but that can be done in a month." Jin Jun answered.
"Alright. What about the portals?" Jin Jun looked at a young woman standing near another device. "Yu Na, what is the update on the portals?" The women didn't turn around or say anything. The man standing near her gently nudged her.
She jumped before looking up. "What happened?" She looked around and saw everyone looking at her. She began to blush. "Sorry. What did you ask?" Jin Jun laughed. "I asked how the portals were going." "Ah. The soldiers who left for Howa are nearly finished."
"We already installed a portal in this village. We can test it when they are finished." "Where did you install them?" Yu Na pointed outside. "There is a jungle at the back of the village. We cleared an area there. You can't see it from the sky."
Jinwoon looked pleased. "I told the soldiers to find a similar situation at the Howa village." "Good work. What else?" "We're still unloading the stuff from the ships. Hara sent the list to ground control before leaving."
"For now we can only install a total of ten portals. We'll have to talk to the Elders to choose which villages are the best. We're waiting for them to tell us how long it's going to take to get everything ready." Jin Jun replied.
"We have enough to do." Jinwoon was hoping that they could finish everything before the Jinoco returned.