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And then came the attack.
It was launched as we came within sight of the clearing, with an abruptness that made all defense impossible. Leaping out of the thickets like stags, the men of Silauros were upon us before we could lift our rifles to our shoulders.
The odd thing about this aggression was that it was not precisely directed against our persons. I sensed this at once, and my intuition was soon confirmed. At no moment did I feel myself in danger of death, as Nikolai had been. They were not after our lives, but after our clothes and all the accessories we were carrying. In a moment we were overpowered. A mass of probing hands stripped us of our assault rifles and ammunition pouches and threw these aside, while others struggled to peel off our clothes and rip them to shreds. Once I had understood what had provoked their fury, I passively gave in, and though I received a few scratches, I was not seriously injured. Kaminski and Petrov did likewise, and presently we found ourselves stark naked in the midst of a group of men and women who, visibly reassured to see us in this state, started dancing around us, encircling us too tightly for us to be able to escape.
There were not at least one hundred of them on the clearing's edge. Those who were farther away then fell upon our launch with a fury comparable to that which had induced them to rip our clothes to shreds. Despite the despair I felt at seeing them pillage our precious vehicle, I pondered on the behavior and fancied I could discern an essential principle in it: these beings were roused to fury at objects. Things that were manufactured provoked their anger as well as their fear. When they seized at an instrument, they held it in their hands just long enough to break it, tear it apart, or twist it. Then they promptly hurled it as far away as possible, as if it were a live coal, just to pick it up again and finish its destruction. They put me in mind of a cat, fighting with a big rat that was half dead but still dangerous, or of a mongoose that had caught a snake. I had already made note of the curious fact that they had attacked us without a single weapon, without even using sticks and stones.
Powerless, we witnessed the sacking of our launch. The door had soon yielded to their blows. They rushed inside and destroyed everything that could be destroyed, in particular the vital navigating instruments, and scattered the bits and pieces. This looting lasted for quite some time. Then, since the metal envelope alone remained intact, they came back to our group. We were jostled, pulled this way and that, and finally dragged off into the depths of the rainforest.
Our situation was becoming more and more dangerous. Disarmed, stripped, obliged to march barefoot at too fast a pace, we could neither discuss our impressions nor even complain. The slightest attempt at interaction provoked such menacing reactions that we were forced to resign ourselves to painful silence. Yet these creatures were men, men just as we were men. Clad and shod, they would barely have drawn attention in our world. Their women were all beautiful, though none of them could rival Novaya's splendor.
The latter followed close behind us. On several occasions, when I was jostled by my guards, I turned around towards her, imploring a sign of compassion, which I fancied I discerned once on her face. But this, I think, was just wishful thinking. As soon as my gaze me hers, she tried to avoid it, without her eyes expressing any other sentiment than bewilderment.
This cavalry lasted for several hours. I was overcome with exhaustion, my feet bleeding, my body covered with scratches caused by the reeds through which these men of Silauros made their way with impunity, like snakes. My companions were in no better shape than I was, and Kaminski was stumbling at each step by the time we finally reached what seemed to be the conclusion of the march. The forest was less thick at this spot the undergrowth had given way to short grass. Here our guards let us go, and without bothering about us, began playing once again, chasing each other through the trees, which seemed to be their chief occupation. We sank to the ground, numb with fatigue, taking advantage of this respite to hold a conversation.
It needed all the philosophy of our leader to prevent us from being engulfed in dark despair. Night was descending. We could undoubtedly attempt an escape by taking advantage of the general inattention; but what then? Even if we managed to retrace our steps there was no chance of our being able to use the launch. It seemed wiser to remain where we were and to try to win over these disconcerting beings. Moreover, we were hungry.
We rose to our feet and took a few timid steps. They went on with their mindless games without paying us any mind. Novaya alone seemed not to have forgotten us. She began following us at a distance, always turning her head away when we looked after her. After wandering at random, we discovered we were in a kind of encampment where the shelters were not even huts, but nestlike constructions like those built by the big apes in our African forests: a few interwoven branches, sans binding, placed on the ground or otherwise wedged into the forks of low trees. Some of these nests were occupied. Men and women---how else can I describe them? ---lay stretched out within them, often in pairs, sound asleep and snuggling up together like dogs in the cold. Other, bigger shelters served whole families, and we noticed several children who looked extremely handsome and healthy.
I'm sorry to say that this provided no solution to our hunger problems. At last, we saw at the tree's foot a family preparing to eat, but their meal was hardly designed to whet our appetites. They were dismembering, without out the aid of a tool, a fairly large animal resembling a deer. With their nails and their teeth, they tore off bits and pieces of the raw meat, which they devoured after simply removing some shreds of skin. There was no sign of a fireplace in the neighborhood. This feast turned our stomachs, and in any case, after drawing a little closer we realized we were by no means welcome to share it. Quite the opposite! Angry growls compelled us to draw back quickly.
It was Novaya who came to our aid. Did she do it because she had finally understood that we were hungry? Could she really understand anything? Or was it because she was hungry herself? Whatever the reason, she went up to a big tree, encircled the trunk with her thighs, climbed up into the branches, and vanished into the foliage. A few moments later we saw a shower of fruit resembling bananas fall to the ground. Then she climbed down again, picked up one or two of these and began eating them without taking her eyes off of us. After a moment's hesitation, we grew brave enough to imitate her. The fruit was quite good, and we were able to eat our fill while she watched us without protesting. After drinking some water from a stream, we decided to spend the night there.
Each of us chose a corner in the grass in which to build a nest similar to the others in the colony. Novaya showed some interest in our work, even to the point of approaching me and helping me break a recalcitrant branch.
I was moved by this gesture; young Petrov found it so vexing that he lay down at once, buried himself in the grass, and turned his back on us. As for Professor Kaminski, he had already fallen asleep, dead tired.
I took some time to finish my bed, still closely watched by Novaya, who had drawn some distance away. When I lay down, she stood motionless for a moment or two, as though unable to make up her mind; then she took a few hesitant steps towards me. I didn't move a muscle for fear of frightening her away. She lay down beside me. I still did not move. She eventually snuggled up against me, and there was nothing to set us apart from the other couples occupying the nests of this strange tribe. But although this girl was marvelously beautiful, I still did not regard her as a woman. Her manner was that of a pet animal seeking the warmth of its master. I appreciated the warmth of her body, without its ever crossing my mind to desire it. I ended up by falling asleep in this outlandish position, half dead from fatigue, pressed against this oddly beautiful and unbelievably mindless creature, after bestowing no more than a glance on the satellite of Silauros, which, smaller than our Moon, cast a yellowish light over the rainforest.
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