by Sean Adami
The general put his hand on his ear and called in the guards. One by one, the guards, wearing oxygen masks, mounted themselves next to the general in a straight line. Wayne said, “Everybody put on a mask. Those oxygen levels ain’t gonna supply you enough.” Robert, nearing the cockpit wall, grabbed five masks, handing one to Marco, Andrew, Harriet, and Wayne.
Andrew couldn’t fathom that this was actually happening. Strapping the mask behind his head, he took a deep breath. Robert said, “Fred, open this door.” Flicking some hatch, Fred prompted it open. As it descended down, the first thing Andrew saw was a blue flower petal, a big one. It had the same shape of the Allure flower, yet it was blue instead of yellow. “Well, that’s not a good sign for our guests. We gotta get our coders on this problem right away,” Robert noticed.
Andrew felt less weight on his shoulders, literally. The gravity here had lessened. Wanting to test this out, he did a little hop, which ascended him three feet in the air. Robert took notice of this. “That’s also right. We need to account that there is less gravity on the northern and southern polar points of this planet. Afterall, this planet is egg-shaped.”
The ship was parked directly under the basin of the Allure petal. Oxygen stabilized all the humans that stepped on Nirvana 74. Andrew’s father was the first one to step foot on this planet. The soil caressed his black boots. Hundreds of space cruisers and assault ships parked along the flower’s circumference. The pilots and soldiers exited their ships, carrying blasters and guns. Thousands of them surrounded the flower. Andrew saw his first ever animate plant in the physical world. It stood still atop a petal, staring at the giant ship with its green eyes. Eventually, more animate plant heads popped out from the petal above. The plant that stared at the ship vibrated weird noises out of its opened epiglottis. It released short intervals of different pitches, almost like morse code. They communicated in musical pitches. Of course, Andrew couldn’t understand anything and neither could the rest of the humans. A security guard reloaded his shotgun. The three plants grew scared and hid away. Robert released a short laughing spurt.
Andrew didn’t understand what his father and the rest of the men were doing. They stood timidly and quietly. Putting his finger on his ear, Robert said, “Men, I have located on your map trackers where the bees rest, according to my son’s directions. Slowly but promptly make your way to this location.” Two guards had their guns aimed at Andrew. Andrew took note of this. The guards and Robert began to walk to the Dopabee location.
“I can see that you really don’t want me to punch you again,” Andrew said. At this point, he had reached full resentment. Andrew didn’t think twice of his words. “You’re lucky I only hit one eye. Two black eyes suit you better.”
Robert said, “Guards, silence him.”
“Not another word,” a guard said as he drew his gun closer to Andrew’s head. Robert and the guards walked silently to the location until they saw an absence of trees. Water springs became apparent. Robert and the thousands of other soldiers stopped walking. Harriet, Rufus, Marco, and Wayne were by Robert’s side.
Robert said, “Where are they?” He took a small pause. “Andrew, where are they!” He took a smaller pause. “Did you lie to us!” Taking the smallest pause, he said, “Because if so, you’re dead.” The bees did not come out of the water springs because the G# chord needed to be played.
An animate plant out of nowhere approached from mid-air to his father. Its venus flytrap mouth revealed its sharp fangs. The guards shot the plant before it bit Robert. The dead plant laid next to Andrew’s two feet. His father’s face became two times more punchable. Wayne said, “Andrew, if you don’t explain what’s going on, you’re gonna end up like this poor animate plant over here.”
Andrew, stubborn as a mama bear, said, “You have to get an animate plant to play a G# chord with a horn. Then the bees will appear. But I am not sure how you will get them to play the horn, considering that you just shot one of their kind.”
Robert said, “Enough. Rufus, go fetch me my dLMC converter.” Rufus agreed and headed back to the Nirvana Voyager. No other animate plants were present at the moment. “I can get them to cooperate if I speak their language. Andrew, let’s forget about this whole situation for a few minutes. Let me tell you another scientific marvel that I’ve come up with. Marco and Harriet, feel free to join in on this lesson as well.” The breeze of Nirvana 74 was calm. Natural vibes settled in, even though his father was going to speak of science. “Let me start off briefly with the term ‘dLMC.’ This is known as the bilateral dorsal laryngeal motor cortex. This part of your brain is responsible for your voice pitching. The nerves connected to this cortex send signals to your vocal chords. And due to the fact that animate plants speak in musical pitches, this converter, which I’ve invented, can process their pitches. Then—”
Rufus, running, said, “I’ve got it, sir. Here you go.” He handed the converter to Robert. This machine was shaped as a biker helmet with two straps that would be worn on the crown of the head. Metallically colored, the converter had a small rectangular speaker atop of it. Robert thanked him.
“Like I was saying,” Robert resumed. “The converter can understand their pitches and translate it into English by using a small speaker that is built inwardly and next to my ear. Next to this inner speaker is a microphone. This is for when I want to communicate back to the plants.” He put the machine on his head, and he had trouble strapping it under his chin, just like how a five-year-old would experience this with a biker helmet. “This helmet anatomically locates where the dLMC is. It attaches an artificial nerve, or neural fiber, through my head and cranium until it reaches this part of my brain. Believe it or not, I think the converter is inserting the artificial nerve into my brain as we speak. I can physically feel the microscopic fiber poking through my head. It actually hurts a little. Anyhow, the converter now has complete control of my dLMC. As I talk to the microphone, the converter will convert what I say into musical pitches with the help of the neural fiber. On top of this helmet is a bigger speaker, which will amplify the pitches to the plants. Pretty extraordinary, isn’t it?”
Before Andrew even got a chance to respond, Marco said, “Neat.”
Robert clicked a tiny button on the side of the helmet. He said, “Plant, gather around. Please, come. It is I, Esse,” Gradually, animate plants came out of the bushes and shrubbery. “I have a message of your salvation. Once again, gather around.” As he spoke, musical notes and chords vibrated from the speaker atop the dLMC helmet. Animate plants understood him. By this point, almost all the animate plants were visible to the eye. “Your eternal doom is near. But I have come to warn you before your downfall ensues. I ask that the bees be set free. Let your horn pronounce this. I plead greatly, and your kind will be saved.” Simultaneous noises went on at the same time: the notes of the speaker’s vibrating and Robert’s talking. It, therefore, made it difficult for Andrew to understand what his father was saying. An animate plant, bowing down, approached Robert with a horn in its wooden hands. Random chords demonstrated their communication. This animate plant played the G# chord. Robert released a grim smirk.
What Robert did, according to Andrew, was “deplantisizing.” The ground shook like geothermal earthquakes. The bees finally emerged out of the water springs. Robert took off the dLMC converter from his head and gave it to Rufus. The bees sporadically moved in the air. Robert put his finger up to his ear, saying, “Release them.”
Andrew heard a loud thump noise. Ten more thumps thumped. Looking behind himself, he saw ten black cubes on the soil with guards protecting them. The top of each cube slowly doored open. Inside the cubes were robotic blue beetles, hundreds of them per cube. Contagiously horrified, Andrew saw the mechanical beetles ascend out of the cubes. These beetles, swifter than real beetles, approached the Dopabees. Conniving through the atmospheric air, the Dopabees noted their presence. Immediately, the bees chased the beetles. Robert said, “Marco, using the beetles was a genius idea.”
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“Thanks, father. All it took was just some heavy footage watching of the endeavour,” Marco said.
Andrew was shook.
Animate plants exponentially increased their musical notes at quicker intervals. They communicated at 200 beats per minute. They spoke with dissonance. Using their venus flytrap mouths, they attacked the soldiers. Unfortunately, their warfare techniques were no match with the technological warfare of humans. Gunfire grew louder than the plants’ singing. Plants fell to their death quicker than their musical tempo. Destruction and chaos overtook the planet. Adding an extra ingredient to the chaos, soldiers carried flamethrowers and set several trees ablazed. Allure caught fire.
Andrew had felt this burning sensation. He stood still while the horror went on in the background. He had lost hope. He felt failure. He had failed the animate plants.
The beetles flew back to the ship to lure the Dopabees in. The three massive corridor doors of the ship opened. Inside each corridor were metallic jail bars. One by one, the Dopabees entered the ship.
Robert seemed pleased. He said, “Rufus, please place the converter back on the ship. I don’t want the ashes to interrupt its glosiness.”
Rufus, who began to have glossy eyes, said, “Okay.” Andrew noticed his glosiness. Robert handed the helmet to Rufus, who walked slowly to the ship. Fire sparks slightly shaded Andrew’s vision. He was at a loss of words. He suspected that his father would kill him now since he was no value to him anymore.
Marco said, “Andrew, you deserve to die.” This was such a profound statement said in such a small amount of words. He had no emotion when he said it though.
“Thanks, Marco,” Andrew said. Since the destruction began, his father hadn’t looked at his son’s eyes. The musical pitches diminished as every beat passed by.
General Wayne said, “Robert, with this taking place, what do you reckon we do with your other son and Harriet?”
“Kill them,” Robert said. His eyes were only focused on the burning blue flower. “But give it a little more time. They deserve to watch this.”
As Andrew meekly stood helplessly with Harriet, he heard a rumbling noise of an engine. It grew louder and closer. An ATV vehicle, driven by Rufus, was speeding towards Andrew. Pulling out his handgun, Rufus shot the two guards that were behind Andrew’s tail. Stopping the vehicle, he said, “Andrew! Harriet! Get on!”
In a millisecond Andrew and Harriet got on. Rufus boosted forward and jolted the car in a 180 degree turn. An echo of “hey”s directly spat out to Andrew. As they made distance, Andrew heard his father ordering the soldiers to shoot them. The dLMC converter was in the side pocket of the ATV. Bullets swarmed by them. Dodging through trees, the ATV ran over several roots and branches of the dead animate plants. Andrew was astonished with what Rufus was doing. Andrew yelled, “Where are we going!” More bullets passed by them. One bullet hit the front-left tire.
Rufus yelled, “Put the converter on your head. Tell the plants what you wanted to tell them!” Grabbing it, Andrew put it on his head. A sharp needle trickled down his cranium. It hurt immensely. The converter now had control of his dLMC.
Andrew yelled, “Animate plants!” He heard the arbitrary animate plant notes. The speaker was too loud for his ears. “You are in utter danger right now, and Esse is sorry for what is happening. Esse needs you to go south! As you go south, you will find salvation. An enormous power is at hand in the shape of a gate. If you pass this gate, you will be saved, and Esse will meet you permanently. You must—” Andrew got shot in the hip. Pain pervaded every nerve in this area. He screamed loudly. Harriet screamed in fear. Andrew’s scream translated into one screechy-like noise out of the speaker. His ears now hurt. “You must leave now!” He heard a slight response from the animate plants through their musical notes. Even though he couldn’t see them, he knew they got the message. He removed the dLMC converter from his head and padded his hands on his wound. He bellowed wildly while Rufus tried dodging as much as he could.
Harriet asked, “Rufus, where are you taking us! And why have you decided to help us now?”
Rufus said, “We gotta find a space cruiser. It’s our only way outta here.” Seeing a deadend of tectonic stone, he turned flawlessly. Guards in every vicinity shot their guns. The dense numbers of trees helped shield them though. “We need to fix Andrew up.”
Harriet said, “We need to find those tadpole creatures.”
“That’s genius,” Andrew said as he exhaled deeply.
“We don't have enough time for that,” Rufus brought up. He continued driving forward. He saw a blue space cruiser. However, there were five guards blocking his way. Seeing that they were about to shoot, Rufus took a sharp turn around them. Surpassing this, Rufus saw the entrance was open. Obviously not as big as the Nirvana Voyager, the space cruiser was a decent size. The entrance was big enough for the ATV to fit in. So Rufus drove straight into the entrance while the guards attempted to shoot them. They safely made it into the interior of the cruiser.
Harriet yelled, “Close the door!” Rufus, seeing an emergency shut-off switch, smashed his hand on the red button. Still seated in the ATV, Andrew saw guards approaching the entrance. Right before they could get a shot off, the door had closed. Andrew felt at rest. Harriet took a deep breath.
Andrew said, “Rufus, why are you doing this? What’s your motive in all of this?”
Rufus sat on the floor. He was tired. He stood quickly back up. “I gotta start this ship. Where’s the ignition?” Andrew was certain that Rufus was in his own world. “Harriet, grab that emergency kit for Andrew! I need to fly this thing.” Andrew could hear bullets hitting the steel of the space cruiser. Rufus walked towards the cockpit.
Andrew asked, “Thanks, Rufus. But again, why are you helping us?”
Putting her mouth up to Andrew’s ear, Harriet whispered, “Shut up. Don’t question his help. Just appreciate it while we can.” She hurried to the emergency kit that was ingrained on the left wall of the ship. Pulling the kit out from the wall, she placed it on the floor. “Andrew, get on the floor.”
Struggling off the seat, he collapsed on the floor. He tightly placed his hands over his painful wound. Suspended on the inner compartment of the kit, tweezers and pincers were ready for use. Neglecting the pincers, Harriet pulled out the tweezers. She said, “I’m not the best surgeon. Could you show me the wound?”
Andrew asked, “Are you nervous?”
“No,” Harriet answered. “Are you?”
“No.”
Andrew pulled the left side of his pants to reveal his fractured hip. He could feel the bloody moistness spreading down his leg as he lowered his pants. Sweat ran down his cheeks. Some sweat merged with some blood. Peeking over at the wound, he could see the dark crimson red that imprinted permanently on his hip. However, Harriet could erase this permanence. Andrew was wary of the tweezers. Much pain was at stake. He convulsed his body as the tweezers poked the wound. The pain was grueling. As bullets prevailed the steel wall, Andrew screamed in agony. Andrew could hear the engine of this ship whir. The shooting and whirring helped lose his focus on the wound. Rufus said, “I started the ship. Thank god for auto-pilot! And thank god Earth is a choice for destination !”
One inch deep in Andrew’s skin, the tweezers grasped the bullet. Harriet yanked the bullet out. A few capillaries and venules broke off, leaving a trail of blood to trickle down his leg. Andrew felt less tension now. He heard a glass window shatter behind him; some of the miniscule glass molecules scathed his outer skin. Andrew yelled, “Rufus, get us out of here!” As he said this, he saw two more windows shatter behind him. Thankfully, the broken windows were not big enough for the guards to enter. A flamethrower flamed the outer steel, slowly melting it. A major pounding vibrated from the entrance door. The guards outside were trying to batter it down. Rufus said, “I’m trying. This terminal is giving me a hard time.” He took out his gun. “Harriet, take my gun in case those guards get in!” He threw it to her. Andrew was still on th
e floor. “Tell Andrew to put pressure on his hip!” Andrew did just that as he weakly laid on the floor.
She said, “I’ve never held a gun before.” Rufus ignored her and played around with the terminal. Andrew guessed that there were hundreds of guards outside this ship.
Rufus said, “It’s working now! All I gotta do is put Earth as our target.” The entrance door clapped down. Two guards holding a battering ram could be seen. Harriet shot both of them. She didn’t miss one shot.
Andrew yelled, “Drive, Rufus!” A loud soothing chime eclipsed from outside the ship. The space cruiser slowly ascended upward. Some guards tried to climb up the entrance. Harriet shot these people as well. The ship ascended upward more quickly. The guards had stopped their shooting. They finally sustained a safe distance away from the obliterated planet.
Andrew brought himself up. He looked out the destroyed entrance door. Getting one last glimpse, he saw true decimation. Fire and ashes was all that was left on Allure. The big blue flower had turned into a red flame. However, he saw hoards of animate plants running away from this scene. With their pronged feet, the plants quickly traveled south. This enlivened Andrew a little. It gave him hope. As for the Dopabees, he saw none of them. They had all been captured. He laid back down on the floor. Standing required too much energy. The ship went Sub-Lightspeed. Nirvana 74 was gone.
“Rufus,” Andrew began. “Why are you helping us?”
Rufus stepped away from the cockpit. He said, “Because what you two are doing is upstanding. I needed a change. And timing was important for that change. I knew I couldn’t let you two down. After what happened to the Dopabees, I right-mindedly couldn’t take it. I know that I betrayed you guys in the past, and I am deeply sorry about that.” Andrew noted that blood was still pouring out his hip. His hands were covered in it as well. “I hope you guys can forgive me. If not, I completely understand.” Rufus saw Andrew’s injury.
Harriet said, “I can’t believe I just murdered five men. I’m a horrible person.”