“When do we leave?
“As soon as you are ready.”
“Who is this Pete guy?”
“You’ll find out when you get there. There is nothing to worry about. He’s a good friend of Frank’s. You’ll like him.”
After breakfast, they ordered western garb, boots, Levis and western belts. The boys wanted light blue denim long sleeve shirts and the girls wanted long sleeve white western shirts.
When they were dressed they ask CAIN for their firearms. He told them they would not be needing them. They insisted but CAIN refused.
When they saw it was futile to argue with him, they asked how to get to Sarah. He showed the door and told them to follow the path.
They were amazed at the beauty of the manicured lawn, the beautiful flowers and trees. As they rounded a bend in the path, they saw Sarah.
They stopped in their tracks. “Look at the size of that thing,” said Beth. To them Sarah was massive. When they reached Amanda, they would see what massive really was.
When they got closer, a door opened and a ramp slid out. When they were aboard, they were met by a service bot who said. “Welcome, follow me.” He took them to the control room where they met Sarah.
Like Amanda, Katherine and Shawn, she was in a transparent cylinder that stood on a pedestal. She was wearing a gauzy flowing white dress. She had long blond hair and startling blue eyes. The way the dress and hair moved, it was like she was facing a slight wind.
She welcomed them. They didn’t see her mouth move but they could hear her. It was eerie. CAIN had told them why a human was integrated to these massive AI computers but it was still unnerving to see it in action.
Sarah said, “Have a seat and I will put our takeoff on the screen.”
They sat down and watched Sarah liftoff and saw what Victoria had seen weeks ago. The place where they had overnighted and the grounds got smaller and smaller. Except for the green patch, the rest of the planet was barren.
I know what you’re thinking” said Sarah. “Why a green spot on a lifeless planet? That green spot is a waystation set up by the Creators. Don’t ask me why it was set up that way. You’ll have to ask the Creators and they are not talking.”
It turned out that Sarah was pretty loquacious. She told them who Pete, Zoe, Gyro, Mac and Max were and who the visitor Victoria was. She said once on Amanda they would go to Mac’s Place and she told them about Mac’s Place. She also told them how massive Amanda was but they would have to see it to believe it.
“How long will it take us to get to Amanda?” asked Beth.
“About three days.”
“That’s terrible,” said Jack. “You’ve got us all excited and now we have to wait three days?”
“The impatience of youth,” said Sarah. “We are traveling three thousand light years in three days. What more do you want?”
“Well, I guess when you put it that way, it’s OK,” said Jack.
Sonny said, “To kill time, how about a tour of the ship?”
Sarah said, “I can do that” and called up a shuttle to show them around. Seated in the shuttle was an attractive young woman dressed in sweats and sneakers.
Sarah said, “This is Bonnie. She is a service bot and will be your guide.”
“What’s a service bot?”, Anne asked.
“A service bot is a human like robot who is programmed to perform services. She’s attached to the central processing unit (CPU) and I can dial up whatever I want her to be, a bartender, a house maid or in this case a guide.”
“Isn’t that slavery?”
“No, if I withdraw her program, she becomes just a hunk of inanimate components and her program sits in the CPU until I want to use it again.”
Anne looked at Beth and said, “You’ll have to explain all of this to me later.”
Beth patted her and nodded her head.
Bonnie turned her head toward them and said, “All aboard. Let’s go see the sights.”
They returned all excited four hours later, thanked Bonnie for a wonderful tour and exited the shuttle.
Beth said, “Your ship is fantastic.”
“Thanks, but if you think this is great, wait until you see Amanda. Words cannot describe her. She may be magnificent but I have more fun.”
“How is that?” said Jack.
“Amanda is too big to be zipping around the galaxy so I am the ship of choice for Pete, Gyro, Zoe and Max for all of that zipping. I go everywhere and see everything and whenever we are attacked by hostile fleets, I’m the one who beats them up. It is all very exciting.”
Beth asked, “By beat them up, what do you mean?”
“I disable their propulsion drives and the weapons. Once that is done, they usually surrender. That is
unless they are doing despicable things like slaving, pirating or being brutal dictators. We tell them we are just tourists, not invaders. After that, they usually invite us down to visit.”
“What if they are doing ‘despicable things’?”
“We let the crews abandon ship and then we destroy their fleets. We round up the tyrants and their minions and ship them off to claxite mines on Portugal. We then admonish the new government not to fall back into their old ways and that we would be watching. It seems to work.”
“Portugal?”
“There are hundreds of human habitable planets in this part of the galaxy with what Mac and Pete thought were unpronounceable names so they gave them names they were familiar with. When they ran out of Earth countries, they used the names of US states, other countries’ provinces and English counties. When Mac and Pete hear these planet names their nanobots translate them to the Earth names and vise versa. When they say the Earth name to the locals it comes out as the name the inhabitants gave the planet.”
Beth, Sonny and Jack grew up reading sifi and watching space movies and TV, like Star Trek but Anne had no idea what was happening. Jack asked Sarah if she could set up a theater and show science fiction space movies and she did. They sat in their overstuffed recliners, eating popcorn and drinking cokes.
Jack explained to Anne what sifi was. It was stories mainly about the future and many of the stories revolved around computers and space travel.
Sarah composed a small film, staring herself, explaining what a computer was and the history of space travel. She also explained the vast distances of space. She gave examples using Earth’s solar system as an example and explained what a light year was and how far celestial bodies were from the Earth. She also explained worm holes and FTL and how there could be no meaningful space travel without them.
“Hold your questions until after you see the videos.”
She started the videos with Star Wars and moved into Star Trek: The Next Generation. She explained The Next Generation had better graphics besides the episodes were new to Beth, Jack and Sonny.
By the time they arrived at Amanda none of them wanted to see another space opera anytime soon.
As promised, the sight of Amanda left them speechless. The vastness of the hanger bay and the size of the ships in the bay left them in awe.
After saying goodbye to Sarah, they took a shuttle to Pete’s ranch house. Seated on the porch were Pete, Gyro, Zoe, Victoria and Max.
Pete got up to greet them. “Welcome. Frank’s told me all about you.” He introduced them to Gyro, Zoe and Victoria. He called Max over and introduce them to Max. All four let Max sniff them and they all petted and scratched his ears and back. After the introductions, Max got back on the couch. “Have a seat.”
The porch was large enough to accommodate a beat up couch and six rocking chairs.
“Would you guys like some lemonade?”
“Yes please,” answer Beth.
“Bronco! Four more lemonades.”
Jack sipped his drink. He looked at Victoria and said, “You’re Victoria Maybury?”
“Yes.”
“Are you kin to the Earl of Woleshome?”
“Yes, I’m his daughter.”
&
nbsp; “What year was it on Earth when you came here?”
“It was 2010. Why do you ask?”
“We knew your great grandfather, Thomas Earl of Woleshome and his sister Gwen and her two children, Robert and Sarah.”
“How can that be? You’re no more than 20 years old. He’s been dead for over 90 years.”
“You’re on a space ship in Lord knows where in the universe and who knows when it is on Earth.”
Victoria looked at him as the realization of what he said impacted her, “Yes, of course. What was he like and how did you meet?”
“We met him in 1876 San Francisco. He was our friend. He traveled with us to Cheyenne country and stayed with us in our Cheyenne step parents’ village. Although he was a British aristocrat, you would have never known it by his demeaner. We all agreed, he was one of the bravest people we had ever met and a good, dependable friend.
He invited us to stay with him at Woleshome and while we were there he introduced us to Bertie who liked us so much he took us to his hunting lodge. We all fell in love with your aunt Gwen and her children.
We stayed at Woleshome for several months and when we left everybody cried including us. We can hardly wait to go back.
If we ever make it back to Earth, you should go with us and meet your family.”
“Right now, all I want to do is get back to my life in New York.”
“Suit yourself but you’re missing out on meeting some of the best people we have ever had the pleasure to call friends.”
Beth said, “CAIN and Sarah gave us history lessons on the Creators, the old war and how all of you got here and what your mission is. So, we are all caught up.
However, I have some questions. Not much of this makes sense. If the Creators are so all knowing and all powerful, why would they need you to find the remnants of the two waring civilizations? Couldn’t they find all this space junk themselves ? Why would they need to? And where did all the waring humans go? We know that both sides were working to be able to transport their opponents to somewhere else in the universe but if that were true, shouldn’t the one side still be around?”
Pete answered, “We’ve asked ourselves the same questions. Maybe these waring civilizations made the Creators nervous. Maybe they thought the warring factions were too close to becoming omnificent. If that happened, they would be a threat to the Creators.
As far as us being junk collectors, who knows? Maybe they’re bored and we’re the entertainment. Maybe they have thrown us into the mix to shake things up. If that’s the case we haven’t done a whole lot of shaking. We’ve done some minor police work like stopping a few pirates/slavers and we have broken up a few wars and liberated a few planets from brutal dictators but nothing Earth shaking. We’ve spent decades being tourists and now that Mac has a beer joint, we are all part owners. We are business men and woman.
We have no need for wealth. We have everything we need right here. We’ll be at Mac’s Place in a couple of days and you can see for yourselves. There’s a greasy spoon that has great food. We call it the Choke and Puke. We do it just to piss Mac off. It drives him crazy when we call it that, which makes it all the more fun.”
Anne said, “When do we get a tour of the ship?”
“Well, seeing as Zoe just gave Victoria a tour, I’ll give you one. We’ll over night at the beach house and we can dive for lobster.”
“If you’re diving for lobster, I’m going too. How about you Victoria?” said Zoe.
“I love lobster. I don’t want to miss out so I’ll go to.”
“How about you Gyro?” said Sonny.
“Nah, I’ll stay here. I’ve had about as much excitement this week as I can stand.”
Pete called for a shuttle and they were off.
They started off on the deck that resembled the US and Canada. Pete took them over the mountain range Pete called the Rockies. They saw the mountain chalets, the streams and lakes. It was beautiful.
Pete then swooped down on the great plains. That really lit up the teenagers. They saw the massive buffalo herds.
Anne said, “Set this thing down. Where can we get horses and bows and arrows?”
“Why would you want that?” said Pete.
Beth looked at him like he was an idiot, “So we can hunt them.”
“If you hunt them and kill six or eight, then what? There is no tribe to feed. The carcasses will lie there and rot in the sun.”
“You’re right. In the excitement of seeing so many buffalo, all I could think of was hunting them. When we last left the Cheyenne, buffalo were few and far between. It was getting harder and harder to find them and when we did, the herds were small compared to what we were used to.
Besides, you can’t imagine the adrenalin rush of the hunt. The smells and the sounds of a stampeding herd and the danger is beyond description.
After the hunt, you are on an emotional high. You meet up with your fellow hunters and they pass around a brain or a heart for everyone to take a bite and you recount your adventure. You laugh and joke with your friends and poke fun at one another.
It’s one of the best feelings I have ever had. I miss it and I am never likely to ever experience it again.
The last time we left our Cheyenne family, they were off to join the Sioux at the Little Big Horn. The buffalo were gone and for the Plains Indians, they don’t know it yet, but their song was over. They’ll be rounded up and placed on a reservation. Their life as they knew it and their culture is gone forever.”
Pete had the shuttle take them to what would be the East Coast on Earth. They flew down to what would have been Key West and saw beach houses and recreation centers all down the coast and on the Atlantic coast Islands. All of this set up for the population the ship was designed to carry.
Pete then had the shuttle take them to the tropical deck and set down next to Zoe’s beach house. They entered the house and had the replicater make swim wear, fins, masks and snorkels for them.
Anne was shocked at the swimming suits. She took Beth aside and said, “I can’t wear something like this. And more to the point, how could you?”
Beth smiled, hugged her and said, “This is the swim wear of the future. On the French Riviera, women go topless or nude. Mores have changed my dear. If it is too much for you, change into shorts and a blouse.”
“Shorts?”
“Short pants. They will show off your legs. Please, just give it a try. You’ll like it and maybe in the future you’ll feel comfortable wearing a bikini.” She held up her skimpy two-piece suit.
“I’ll give the shorts a try but I don’t know if I can ever wear one of those.”
Beth hugged her mortified friend and said, “You do what makes you comfortable. No one will say a thing or think any less of you.”
Beth picked out an outfit for her friend.
Anne looked at herself in her new clothing and thought, “Hmm, I don’t look half bad.” She was still nervous. After all she was raised in the Victorian era where women spent most of their lives cover from below the chin to their feet in clothing.
After diving the reef, they came back with two dozen lobster. They sautéed the lobster in olive oil and garlic and served it on a bed of rice. A heavy crusted Italian bread, green beans, salad and a dry white Orvieto wine rounded out the meal.
Two days later when they returned to the ranch house, they were only a few hours away from Mac’s Place. You could feel the excitement. Even Amanda was excited.
Pretty soon Mac’s planet began to fill the observation screen. Pete said, “Amanda take us into the docking bay. I think we are going to operate out of Mac’s Place from now on, no more in the vast expanse of the rift.”
“Sounds good to me, Pete. I can interface with Shawn and keep an eye on all that is happening. It’s a lot more stimulating than floating around in the void. I might even create a human body, a shell and give it my consciousness. I can once again drink beer and have a social life. I could even date. What do you think, Pete? You look like
a likely prospect. You’re kind of cute.”
“Damn Pete, I don’t think I have ever seen you blush before,” said Zoe.
Victoria said, “You’re right Zoe. He’s a red as a beet.”
For once Pete was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth but all that came out was stuttering.
“Don’t worry Pete. I was just kidding but you are mighty cute. Don’t you think girls?”
Anne, Beth and Zoe all agreed. Victoria said, “I wouldn’t go as far as to say cute, maybe moderately good looking. At most he’s a four on a scale of 10, four and a half max.”
Pete gained his composure and said, “You girls are getting a big kick out of this aren’t you?”
Victoria got up, walked over and sat in Pete’s lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a big sloppy wet kiss on his mouth and said, “Oh, Petey are we embarrassing you? We only do it because we love you. Isn’t that right girls?”
Zoe said, “When you get up, I want to kiss on him too. After all he is irresistible. How about you Beth and Anne?”
Beth said, “I don’t know about kissing him but ever since I’ve known him, I’ve wanted to grab him on the ass. He’s got a really cute ass. Don’t you think Anne?”
Before Anne could say anything, Zoe said, “Oh yeah he does have a nice ass. It really is grabbable. Don’t you think so Anne?”
All of this talk embarrassed Anne but she soldiered on and said, “I don’t know about kissing him or grabbing him but I would like to run my fingers through his hair.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Victoria as she began to run her fingers through Pete’s hair.
Pete put his arms around Victoria and with one hand squeezed her on the butt.
Victoria jumped up like she was sitting on a hot plate. She said in an indignant voice, “What was that?”
“What’s good for the goose…Vicky.”
Amanda came on the intercom, “All right children. I’m about to enter the docking bay. It will take me hours to dock this beast so I have a shuttle ready to take you to Mac’s casino.”
When they boarded the shuttle, it was unlike the one that showed them around Amanda. This shuttle looked like a bar and lounge in a five star hotel or upscale country club. It had a full bar with bartender and a cocktail hostess. It had a beautiful stone floor, comfortable couches and overstuffed chairs and it was all enclosed with what looked like a glass dome. They had a 360 degree view.
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