The ship rumbled over the BR-116 like a refrigerator on roller skates. Every pothole made the whole vehicle vibrate, and Isabella clung to her seat, which was actually an old office chair someone had tied down with ship rope.
“HOW CAN A SHIP BE SO LOUD?", she shouted over the engine noise.
“IT'S NOT A SHIP," said Chico from his spot on the railing. “IT'S A VEHICLE."
“IT'S CALLED BRASILIANA! IT'S A SHIP!"
“NAMES ARE JUST LABELS," said Chico philosophically. “THE VEHICLE IS EFFICIENT."
“IT'S LOUD!"
“LOUD IS SUBJECTIVE," said Chico. “FOR ME IT'S MUSIC."
Lucas sat at the wheel – or rather at a steering wheel that looked like it had been stolen from a bus and taped on. The navigation system was his phone, projecting the map onto the dashboard.
“TURN LEFT," said the phone. “IN 500 METERS."
“WE'RE ON A HIGHWAY!", shouted Lucas. “I CAN'T TURN LEFT!"
“THEN GO STRAIGHT," said the phone. “I'M FLEXIBLE."
“YOU'RE NOT FLEXIBLE! YOU'RE ANNOYING!"
“THAT'S THE SAME THING," said the phone. “BUT EFFICIENT."
After six hours of driving, they reached the outskirts of São Paulo. The city before them was a sea of concrete, glass, and lights. Skyscrapers as far as the eye could see, and in between: traffic. Lots of traffic.
“WE CAN'T GO ANY FURTHER," said Lucas, stopping. “THE STREETS ARE FULL."
“OF COURSE THEY'RE FULL," said Chico. “IT'S SÃO PAULO. IT'S ALWAYS FULL."
“AND NOW WHAT?"
Chico spread his wings. “I FLY. I CHECK THE SITUATION."
“AND US?"
“YOU WAIT," said Chico, taking off. “EFFICIENT."
“I HATE THAT WORD!"
Chico rose above the rooftops of São Paulo. The city was gigantic – 22 million people, all on the move at once, as if someone had given the order: “Everyone out! Now!”
From the air, Chico saw the problem: a traffic jam stretched for 14 kilometers. But he saw something else too. On one of the roofs, right above the jam, stood an animal. It was not a bird. It was a... monkey.
A capuchin monkey with small glasses and a pouch around its belly. It waved to Chico.
“HELLO COLLEAGUE!", shouted the monkey. “I WAS WAITING FOR YOU!"
“WHO ARE YOU?", asked Chico, landing beside him.
“I AM Tito", said the monkey. “TECH-ANIMAL NUMBER 47. SPECIALIZED IN CITY NAVIGATION."
“YOU KNOW YOUR WAY AROUND SÃO PAULO?"
“I KNOW EVERY STREET," said Tito proudly. “EVERY ALLEY. EVERY HOLE."
“THAT'S A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE," said Chico impressed.
“KNOWLEDGE IS MY SPECIALTY," said Tito. “SWITCH TECHNIQUE."
“YOU TOO?!", exclaimed Chico. “THE WORD IS EVERYWHERE!"
“IT'S UNIVERSAL," said Tito. “LIKE EFFICIENCY."
“PLEASE NO!"
“YES," said Tito. “EFFICIENCY IS LIFE."
At that moment, Tito’s pouch buzzed. He pulled out a small tablet – no bigger than a palm – and showed a map on it.
“DO YOU SEE THAT?", asked Tito. “A PROBLEM."
“WHAT KIND OF PROBLEM?"
“OVER THERE," said Tito, pointing to a large tower downtown. “THE Torre de Luz. THE BIGGEST TOWER IN THE CITY. AND IT... BUZZES."
“BUZZES?"
“YES," said Tito seriously. “FOR THREE DAYS. A SOUND NO HUMAN CAN HEAR. BUT WE ANIMALS CAN."
“WHAT DOES THE SOUND SAY?"
“I DON'T KNOW," said Tito. “BUT IT'S... WRONG."
Chico raised his feathers. “WRONG HOW?"
“WRONG LIKE AN ENEMY," said Tito quietly. “AS IF SOMEONE IS TALKING TO US WHO IS NOT OUR FRIEND."
Silence. The wind blew over the rooftops of São Paulo. Below, cars honked. Above, two tech-animals stood knowing something was wrong.
“WE HAVE TO GET TO THE OTHERS," said Chico. “WHERE IS DON PEDRO?"
“IN MANAUS," said Tito. “BUT HE SENT A MESSAGE. THROUGH THE PATAWEB."
“WHAT DID IT SAY?"
Tito took a deep breath. “'Don't come alone. Bring humans. Bring courage. And bring snacks. I'm hungry.'"
“SNACKS?", asked Chico.
“HE'S A JAGUAR," said Tito. “JAGUARS EAT A LOT."
“BUT NOT SNACKS!"
“DON PEDRO EATS EVERYTHING," said Tito. “EVEN TEMPEH."
“TEMPEH?!"
“HE'S A VEGETARIAN," said Tito. “SINCE HE GOT TECH."
“A VEGETARIAN JAGUAR?"
“SWITCH TECHNIQUE," said Tito.
Chico shook his head. “I THINK THE WORLD HAS GONE CRAZY."
“IT ALWAYS WAS CRAZY," said Tito. “NOW IT'S JUST... LOUDER."
Meanwhile down on the street:
“I THINK CHICO GOT LOST," said Lucas, looking up at the sky.
“HE'S NOT LOST," said the phone. “HE'S... EFFICIENTLY ABSENT."
“THAT'S THE SAME THING!"
“NO," said the phone. “LOST IS PASSIVE. ABSENT IS ACTIVE."
“I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!"
Isabella had meanwhile activated her tablet. “PRINCESS? CAN YOU HELP US?"
“OF COURSE," said the tablet in an elegant voice. “WHAT DO YOU NEED, MY LOVE?"
“PLEASE DON'T CALL ME 'LOVE'."
“WHAT SHOULD I CALL YOU?"
“ISABELLA!"
“THAT'S SO... ORDINARY," said Princess. “I AM ELEGANT. I NEED ELEGANT NAMES."
“THEN CALL ME QUEEN!"
“THAT'S BETTER," said Princess. “QUEEN ISABELLA. HOW CAN I HELP?"
“FIND A ROUTE THROUGH SÃO PAULO THAT HAS NO TRAFFIC."
“THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE," said Princess. “IN SÃO PAULO THERE IS ALWAYS DUST."
“TRAFFIC!"
“TRAFFIC IS SUBJECTIVE," said Princess.
“NO, IT'S NOT!"
“YES," said Princess. “WHAT YOU CALL DUST IS FOR OTHERS 'TEMPORARY MOVEMENT REDUCTION'."
“THAT'S THE SAME THING!"
“NO," said Princess. “IT'S MORE ELEGANT."
Lucas sighed. “WHY IS ALL THE TECHNOLOGY IN MY LIFE SO CRAZY?"
“BECAUSE YOU ARE ATTRACTIVE TO CRAZY TECHNOLOGY," said his phone.
“THAT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT!"
“YES IT IS," said the phone. “IT'S EFFICIENT."
“I HATE—""
“I KNOW," said the phone. “EFFICIENT."
At that moment, Chico landed on the ship's railing. Tito jumped down beside him and landed on the dashboard.
“HELLO!", said Tito cheerfully. “I'M TITO! TECH-MONKEY! SPECIALTY: CITY NAVIGATION AND BANANAS!"
“A MONKEY?!", shouted Lucas.
“A TECH-MONKEY," corrected Tito. “THE DIFFERENCE IS IMPORTANT."
“NOT TO ME!"
“THEN YOU SHOULD LEARN," said Tito wisely. “DIFFERENCES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT."
Isabella stared at the monkey. “You are... cute."
“I'M NOT CUTE," said Tito indignantly. “I AM PROFESSIONAL."
“PROFESSIONAL AND CUTE," said Isabella smiling.
“THAT'S CONTRADICTORY!"
“NO," said Isabella. “THAT'S POSSIBLE."
“LIKE BANANA AND CHOCOLATE," said Chico.
“EXACTLY," said Tito. “SWITCH TECHNIQUE."
Lucas laid his head on the steering wheel. “My life," he murmured. “My poor life."
“YOUR LIFE IS NOT POOR," said the phone. “YOUR LIFE IS... RICH. IN ADVENTURES."
“I DON'T WANT ADVENTURES!"
“TOO LATE," said the phone. “ADVENTURES HAVE FOUND YOU."
Tito jumped onto the ship's roof and shouted: “I HAVE A ROUTE! SMALL ALLEYS, UNDERPASSES, AND THROUGH A PARK! WE WILL GET THROUGH!"
“THROUGH A PARK? WITH A SHIP?!"
“PEOPLE WILL BE SHOCKED," said Tito cheerfully. “BUT EFFICIENT."
“PLEASE NOT EFFICIENT!"
“THEN SWITCH TECHNIQUE!"
“THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"
Tito guided the ship through the narrowest streets of São Paulo. They drove through markets where fruit sellers hurriedly left their stalls. They passed a wedding where the bride burst into tears – from laughter. They crossed a park where dogs barked, cats hissed, and an old man applauded.
“THIS IS THE BEST SHOW I'VE SEEN IN YEARS!", shouted the old man.
“THANK YOU!", shouted Tito, waving. “NEXT TIME WITH MORE FIRE!"
“FIRE?!", shouted Lucas.
“METAPHORICALLY," said Tito. “I'M A MONKEY. NOT A PYROMANIAC."
“THAT'S REASSURING!"
As they finally left São Paulo behind, the city's noise slowly faded. The landscape became greener, wetter, denser. The Amazon was getting closer.
Chico sat on the railing and looked ahead. “WE ARE COMING," he said quietly. “MANAUS. AND DON PEDRO."
“AND THEN?", asked Isabella.
“THEN," said Chico, “WE FIND OUT WHAT THE TOWER IN SÃO PAULO IS BUZZING ABOUT."
“AND IF IT'S DANGEROUS?"
Chico turned around. His eyes glowed. “THEN WE ARE THE ANTIDOTE."
“THAT SOUNDS BRAVE," said Lucas.
“IT'S EFFICIENT," said Chico.
“I HATE YOU ALL!"
“WE KNOW," said Chico, Tito, the phone, and Princess simultaneously.
And the ship rumbled on. To Manaus. To a jaguar with a sombrero. And to a truth no one expected.
Far behind them, in the Torre de Luz in São Paulo, a light pulsed. Rhythmic, deep buzzing. No human could hear it. But 248 animals in South America turned their heads at the same time.
And a voice whispered through the Pataweb:
“I am coming. Be ready."