Poet: A Varan Tale

by Angela B. Mortimer

Hyclos or hybrid, not that it worries her. As with everyone else brought up here, she doesn’t notice differences in the races here on Astras.’

  ‘No, it’s not that, but Rucella’s right, she’s far too obsessed with her work.’ Carnos pressed Rucella’s point of view.

  ‘If you remember I was the same?’

  ‘You always found time for a seduction.’

  Doella sighed, and agreed with him, ‘Yes I did. What shall I do with her? I don’t want to discourage her work. She’s doesn’t know what she’s looking for, but she’ll find it.’

  ‘What will she find?’

  ‘You keep asking me, several possibilities, it depends.’

  ‘On what?’

  ‘Give up, if I tell you what she might find, you will influence her, you’d promise not too and mean it, but possible futures can be difficult?’

  ‘So many possibilities?’

  ‘I don’t go looking, they find me, leave it at that.’

  Carnos had a flash of inspiration. ‘Take her home to Varan.’

  ‘Varan?’ Doella hadn’t considered it, but it made sense. Lucessa might find a man to interest her.

  ‘Why not? You’re due to take Core back, I thought of tagging along, take Lucessa instead, our mothers long to see her.’

  ‘And our fathers?’ Doella’s lifestyle was still a sore point with her father. Although he loved her, it pained him to see her and he never asked about his many grandchildren, even those who were full Varan. ‘You’ve mentioned your mother always asks after the children, my mother does too, she’s curious, she sees us as married, and forgets the rest.’

  ‘My mother too will be happy to meet Lucessa, but what if father isn’t welcoming?’ Carnos’ father didn’t approve of his rogue son.

  ‘He will be for her sake, even if I have to help it along, you get the lectures Carnos.’

  ‘How right you are. We’re lucky we’re allowed to go home now, but it’s because the authorities are afraid of you. And as for more children, Astras is safe now, you can leave breeding for a while, plenty of others here willing to do their bit for their home.’

  ‘As on Varan, we’ve made it our duty to breed,’ she wrinkled her forehead by lifting an elegant eyebrow. ‘There should be other duties as important. I used to complain Varan was obsessed with breeding, now we’ve the same.’ It was Doella’s constant worry; they were creating another Varan style colony, if on the other side of the galaxy.

  ‘We had to start somewhere,’ Carnos’ usual reply.

  ‘Is it why Rucella thinks Lucessa is not doing her duty, and that having children comes before self?’

  ‘Rucella isn’t foolish; she loves Lucessa and she thinks the way to happiness is through a happy marriage and children.’

  ‘I should take Rucella to Varan, to meet my siblings and cousins who prefer to continue their career?’

  ‘Every child should have the opportunity to find their own way,’ Carnos suggested.

  ‘I forget most of my children are not welcome on Varan. You’re right, we’ll find our own way to balance our world as Varan did. I will take Lucessa.’ She reached for her first “husband" again.

  Doella didn’t waste time and early the next day went to Lucessa’s large and tidy laboratory to find her. Unlike her father, who preferred to work with his friend Sark and others, Lucessa insisted on working alone.

  ‘I’m here mother,’ she called back to Doella’s hail, and popped her head around a piece of dangerous equipment used for crushing crystals and rock samples. Lucessa adored her mother, and Doella indulged her children in whatever they preferred. For Lucessa it was samples of those rare crystals, which might augment or replace those already used for many practicalities.

  ‘I’m going to Varan with Core and you are coming with us,’ Doella expected protest but Lucessa smiled.

  ‘I’ve always wanted to go, we’ve their data, but it’s not the same as seeing the museums and libraries.’

  Doella looked at her daughter; her practical work suit wasn’t suitable to meet her family, much less walk around Varan. ‘Work suits are not for home life, your grandmother will think badly of me, not you. We’ll organise different dresses.’

  Lucessa protested the ones she possessed were fine, her mother silenced her. ‘No, new ones, the ship will plan them. We’re leaving in a few days, so get your experiments in order.’

  Lucessa smiled even wider. She’d agree to wearing dresses if it meant going to Varan.

  Doella used the Black Ship and “no-time”; so they circled Varan in a few moments. Core hated the way they re-appeared too fast, he needed time in space to adapt to another planet. Lucessa was disappointed too, she loved being in the strange Black Ship and asking it questions. Her scientific soul soaring into places, others didn’t imagine existed. Core she found stern, so unlike her own father with his easy ways.

  She had time to ask questions of it as Doella and Core were discussing what he hoped to achieve on his visit. She walked over to the huge window in what her mother called the “sitting room” and looked at Varan beneath them. A green world with blue oceans and polar caps, not different from many planets her mother took her, but this planet was different, nearly home. No one had any idea they were here, the ship was “out of phase” so not to register on any of Varan’s sophisticated security systems.

  Wylane and the other dragon’s understood how the Black Ship worked, and Lucessa asked them, but in their usual infuriating manner the dragons hadn’t explained to her satisfaction. Doella explained their methods of understanding were instinctual and hard to put into words. Lucessa listened as the ship explained, she understood the concept, but once filed away in her mind she found it hard to explain to anyone else. She had an insight into a dragon’s mind, which asked more questions, she was sure the ship could help with. She was going to ask, when she noticed Core was gone and her mother was waiting for her.

  ‘You can ask questions as long as you wish, but one leads to another, there’s no end to questions,’ suggested her mother.

  ‘What do you do when you need a question answered?’ Lucessa sensed her mother was more Dragon than Varan and she understood her vague question.

  ‘I’ve learnt not to ask, the answers come as you need them.’

  Lucessa nodded, ‘Like a dragon, but I can’t stop asking.’

  ‘Because you’re young, one day when your head threatens to burst with everything you’ve asked, it’s time to stop.’ Her mother was smiling but serious.

  ‘How odd Dragons are?’

  ‘To you, they are born with the knowledge the rest of creation asks for, but use it only when needed. Searching for what isn’t needed is considered foolish.’

  ‘So they humour me?’

  Doella laughed, ‘They know where you’re going.’

  ‘I wish I did,’ she grinned back.

  ‘Ready?’

  ‘Yes, but the clothes? Forget that, a stupid question, they will arrive with us, and I’ll be dressed as a Varan should. I’m ready mother.’ She took her mother’s offered hand. The ship smiled, it liked this daughter of Doella.

  They arrived to a small, cluttered room with a large window that looked onto, by Astrian standards, an overgrown garden. Doella’s simple room was in an old part of the house, used for storage and guests.

  ‘You look perfect,’ Doella smiled at her daughter’s new dress, courtesy of the Black Ship. ‘My mother knows we are here and will come to us, she’ll make the introductions. Remember it isn’t Astras, there are many families living here. This one house is bigger than the total buildings we have on Astras.’

  ‘I’m surprised you’ve room for such a large garden.’

  ‘We grow most of our food here, as well as gardens grown for pleasure. At several times in our history we put stress on our planet, that’s why our families are smaller now. Varan live off world too, but it’s a rare Varan who prefers to live elsewhere. This one room was shared by siblings or close cousins.’

  Luc
essa couldn’t imagine sharing what she considered a tiny room with anyone else. ‘It looks so old mother?’

  ‘Yes, not quite the original house, but close to it. Hath and I sneaked in and played in the unused parts of the house. At present a thousand people live here, in earlier times there’d be ten times that number. I agree there’d be little privacy.’

  ‘They must’ve supplemented fresh food with replicated.’ Doella smiled, trust Lucessa to be always thinking as a scientist.

  ‘If you’re used to being surrounded by lots of people, it’s unpleasant to be alone. It’s a lively way to live, even if privacy is difficult.’ Doella sat on a bed. ‘The oldest person living here is my great, great, great grandmother. We leave marriage and babies until later in life. After many early mistakes, Varan have the formula right.’

  The door opened and a lovely woman entered. Doella hugged her mother for a few moments before introducing her daughter.

  ‘Carnos’ daughter, at last one of my many Astrian grandchildren.’ She paused, trying not to think, at least this child is a Varan. She kept it from Lucessa, but not Doella. ‘Lucessa I keep asking your mother to bring you for a visit.’ She hugged her.

  ‘And I keep asking you to visit Astras,’ Doella smiled.

  ‘Life is busy for us, always something to harvest or preserve,’ Prirella’s excuses were lame, and she knew it.

  ‘Your grandmother finds our way of life strange,’ explained Doella to help her mother.

  ‘Yes I do,’ Prirella admitted, ‘and I’m sure Lucessa is aware, you’re