Salt and Fire Page #4

out of the frame.

Please do it quickly,

we have to move on.

- But the railroads...

- They are senseless.

They only allow us to go

from where we already are

to where we're no better off.

This is uturuncu.

I thought it was important

you see it.

Uturuncu. The dormant volcano?

I know what your

field of study is, professor,

but there is something

much bigger looming

than the

diablo blanco disaster.

The entire area of uturuncu,

thousands of square miles,

is lifting,

and the volcano itself

is rising and expanding

all at a rate that exceeds

any previous measurements.

In fact it is rising so rapidly

that we

are experiencing permanent,

round-the-clock tremors.

And what could happen?

You should ask

how fast it could happen.

It might happen

in 200 thousand years,

maybe in 20 thousand...

...or maybe in twenty.

There's no point in asking

about nearby population.

When uturuncu erupts,

our entire planet

will be obscured for decades.

It won't matter if you live

in the arctic,

or the himalayas, or Australia.

We will disappear as a species.

I am more concerned about

what we have created here.

Here and now.

A gigantic salt flat

that is expanding rapidly.

So am I.

But what may overtake it all

is the fire lying underneath.

We must face both.

Salt and fire.

Here lies a monster,

on the verge of waking.

My guess is one day soon

everyone will know

how to pronounce uturuncu...

Uturuncu.

This is my goal.

To bring you here.

But this is exactly where my

colleagues and I were heading.

What's the point of all this?

I only had an abstract idea

how vast this is.

Just numbers.

The alarming thing is the speed

of its expansion.

Almost 800 square miles

per year.

If it continues to grow,

the salt will cover

the entire continent one day.

I'm inclined to think

it could cover

all land mass on the planet.

Science fiction.

I'd love to think that way.

Well, you know,

speaking of that,

this is the ideal landing site

for aliens.

Nothing on the planet

is so totally flat and so vast.

Even our satellites use it

to calibrate their distance

from the ground.

- So, this is incahuasi island.

- Put it on the ground.

Put it all down here.

I know it from maps.

I thought the world might see

the depth of this place

if you experience

something new.

Meaning what?

What are they doing over there?

Hey!

- Drive! Go!

Stop the car! Hey!

Open the door!

No, you can't leave me here!

Stop it!

Hey!

There are children there!

Are you mad?!

Are you crazy?!

You left children behind!

What am I supposed to do

with these kids?!

Who are you?

Huh?

Do you know why we are here?

Who are you?

Do you know those men?

Riley?

Do you know Riley?

Have you been here before?

You know this place?

Huh?

Can you see me?

Can you see me?

Do you understand me?

Can you understand me?

Huh?

Who are you?

I am Laura. Laura.

And you?

What is your name?

Laura.

Your name.

Huascar.

Huascar.

Huascar?

And the other boy?

The other boy?

Is he your brother?

Huh?

Laura.

- Laura.

And what is your name?

Atahuallpa.

Ata-atahuallpa?

Huascar. Laura.

Are you brothers?

Huascar? Atahuallpa?

The royal inca brothers?

Have you been here before?

Do you know this island?

Hey.

Do you know this island?

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

That's all the water we have.

Come here.

Smell.

Onion.

In your language?

Do you like onion?

And now?

What do we do, huh?

We have to build a camp.

Let's do this together.

So, please, help me with this.

Unroll it.

Good.

And now unfold.

Very good.

And... one, two... three.

Very good.

give me your hands.

Hold this.

Hold. Okay?

Hold still. Good boy.

Good job.

Thank you.

I need your help, too. Okay?

Come with me.

Atahuallpa, hold it, please.

Stay here.

Stay here.

Stay here, stay here.

Don't move, don't move.

This is good now.

Don't move.

Good job.

Stand still. Good.

Now...

This is our home now.

All we have is food

for about a week.

I worry about the water.

The salt absorbs

all the humidity.

We have blankets,

toilet paper,

kitchen utensils,

and a stove.

We are trapped here.

In a vast expanse of salt.

No fences, no locked doors.

Getting away from the island

is impossible.

Returning to the shore

would mean a three day trek

across salt.

okay. Rice.

How do you call it?

Hm?

- Sal.

- Sal...

Salt.

How about rice...

...and some of the dried fish?

Hm?

Wow, you did a nice job

with the stove.

So...

- Laura.

- Yes?

- Laura.

- Hm?

Ah, I'm supposed to hold

my hand like this?

Wow!

Wow!

This is magic!

A magnet.

Wonderful.

Considering the circumstances,

the night was good.

One of the boys

talked in his sleep.

Why are we stranded here?

Why is Riley doing this to us?

How can we hold out?

Huascar.

Ah, hm.

Is it good?

Hmm, yes.

Si.

Ja?

Ja.

Come here.

Like it?

Hm?

Atahuallpa.

Atahuallpa.

Huascar. Huascar.

Come here.

It's good. Huh?

Like it?

Yeah?

Is it good?

We better save the water

for drinking.

Come here.

Huascar.

Atahuallpa!

Huascar!

Atahuallpa, you stay here.

You stay here, okay?

What are you doing?

Hm?

You should hold

your brother's hand.

Are you okay?

Give me your hand.

Let's go.

Good.

One step to your right.

Big step there.

Do you hear anything?

Uturuncu.

I can hear something.

Very distant.

Like a faint grumbling.

The salt plain

obviously behaves

like a gigantic membrane.

Are we sitting on a fire

that is moving beneath us?

My wish to have my scientific

instruments with me

is vanishing.

The ocean of salt around me

changes my way

of seeing things.

I find myself in a maze

of lines I do not comprehend.

Just like an alien planet.

This is not of our world.

I wish the boys could see

what I see.

If I stretched out my hands,

I could harvest the stars.

Good.

Uno.

Ooh!

- Laura.

- Laura.

Wow. Six.

Oh!

Feel. Feel.

Six.

One, two, three,

four, five, six.

Huascar.

Wow!

- Seis!

Feel it.

Burry.

Uno, dos, tres, cuatro.

Aqui. Cuatro.

- Mm-mm. Mm-mm.

- Uno, dos, tres...

Oh, oh.

Atahuallpa.

Did you cheat?

Ja?

You go back with this, huh?

Four.

One, two, three, four.

Huascar.

Huascar, what did you do?

Hm?

- Si, si.

- Ja, ja, ja, ja.

You like cheating, huh?

You like cheating.

Si.

Oh.

Congratulations.

- Laura.

Come here.

You are two cheaters!

You are two cheaters.

I saw that you were

cheating on me.

Is that true?

Did you cheat on Laura?

All the time you were

cheating on Laura, huh?

You were cheating on me, you...

Hm?

I can't believe

it is already Tuesday.

Time makes no sense anymore.

Here I am, stranded

with two blind boys.

my former life has almost

completely disappeared.

I feel that I'm changing.

But how, I do not know.

No...

No.

What if nobody

comes to our rescue?

What do I tell the boys

when we run out of water?

They are totally unaware

of the impending danger.

What are you doing?!

There's such little water left!

Hey!

What did you do, huh?!

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