Paul and Zimuel pulled into the hanger bay at Mountain City in their Shiny Gold Executive Starship and once again were greeted by Tlase with a surprised look on her face, since the Light Destroyer was in the hanger as well. When they stepped out of the ship Zimuel could see the questioning look and told her, “Lucy flew the other one home.” Before he had a chance to give her a hug and ask how her day went, a strange little creature about 4 feet tall stepped from the stairwell and said, “laz,” and walked to her side and cowered against her hip. Both men looked at the strange little creature questioning if they had indeed heard it talk or just make a strange sound. Before either could say another word, Tlase began, “I found him hiding in one of the cabinets in the Research Lab. I’m not certain, but I believe he was part of the genetic research done in the animal labs.” “What is it”, asked Zimuel. “There is a species of monkey like creatures that live in one of the southern continents, I’m not certain if the species even has been given a name. Part of the research done here was geared to increasing intelligence and strength. There were trials done mixing human DNA, a local species of mountain goat DNA and this creature. I looked at some records and found there were many much more bazar experiments that produced much scarier creatures than this one.” Paul looked at the bashful little thing. It did in fact look like a cross between a goat and a species of haplorhine primates, with just a touch of human thrown in. There were short horns on its head, hooved feet, eyes and ears that looked completely human, five fingers on each hand with opposable thumbs; the face was smooth but with a snout like a nose; more like a goat and the teeth were definitely those of a carnivore instead of a grass eating goat. The body shape was all human except for the short tan fur. It seemed that walking upright was natural for him. Zimuel reached toward the little creature and it clung tighter and once again said, “laz.” Paul asked, “Is that all he can say?” Tlase shook her head as the creature clung to her leg and explained her day’s experience.
I went to the lab with primarily two goals, to kill the demented vine and to look for any significant results of research that had been left behind. As I was preparing to leave Mountain City I was surprised to see on the seat of the Transport a spherical object about five inches in diameter. I was expecting some kind of herbicide or defoliant, but the note attached gave me specific instruction on how I was to use it. Lying beside the sphere was a small wireless device the size of an Earth quarter dollar with a small red button in the middle. When I got to the research lab the note instructed me to go into the mechanical room on the first floor and place the sphere inside the return air shaft, then push the button and close the shaft access panel. I then went to the work area on the other side of the glass from the vine. Zimuel, it knew I was there and seemed angry. It began to beat on the glass in hopes of getting out. A few minutes later I saw the little sphere melt a hole in the iron grate barring the air shaft. As it floated to the middle of the room I prepared to do the next step of Lucy’s instructions to me. It paused along the ceiling in the middle of the room and before the vine even had a chance to notice its presence, I pushed the red button a second time. What happened next is far beyond my imagination and I still have trouble believing what I saw. The sphere exploded in a brilliant green light and everything in the room was concealed in a wall of green. Then in an instant the light and the wall of green were gone, and so was the vine. Not a single trace of it was left; not a leaf, piece of bark, not even dust where I presumed it had been turned to ash. No, the lab was perfectly clean, as if the vine never existed. It was then that just behind me this little guy crawled out of a laboratory cabinet and cried, “on!” At first I wasn’t certain what he meant until he pointed at the room which had contained the vine and said it again. “Gone,” I said to him and he nodded his head and repeated, “on”. I heard him say a few other things, mostly repeating things I said to him as I searched the lab. He wasn’t about to let me leave him there when I left, so, here he is. I need a name for him, don’t you think?”
Paul looked at Tlase, her new companion and then at Zimuel, but what he said, was, “Lucy, how did you make the vine disappear?” Her reply came back, “Oh, wonderful, it worked! To answer your question, the device was developed during the research to make a new weapon that could completely destroy every air breathing creature and leave everything else completely unscathed. It was never tested beyond lab animals, where we put several air breathing animals in an enclosed chamber along with plants and a few small structures and set the device off. We had numerous successful trials by establishing the uniqueness of the DNA in living creatures versus that of plants. All I did was reverse the formula to eradicate the DNA of that specific plant and not harm anything else. If Tlase had actually been in the same room, she may have experienced a problem momentarily with her breathing, but would have been completely unharmed. Were any of the other plants in the room destroyed?” Tlase responded, “I hadn’t thought about it, but no. There were several other plants in the room that looked just fine.” Paul took an exasperated sigh and said, “We’ve got to discuss this bomb some more,” and got a reply, “As you wish.”
As the four of them headed upstairs for the kitchen, Zimuel gave Tlase a strong hug and asked, “So, did you find anything interesting today besides a mutant creature and a disappearing vine bomb?” She smiled and took a small box from her jacket pocket. She opened the box to reveal an object shaped and sized like a small handgun. At closer inspection, Paul could see that it had three almost invisible needles sticking from the front. “This is an experimental devise designed to administer antivirus, antibacterial and antipoison simultaneously. The improved formulas are enhanced and require less serum and the compatibility issue has been resolved, so all three can be given at once. And, she reached into a pocket and removed a foil pouch, if you wipe the skin just before injecting, this will numb the skin just long enough that you can’t even feel it.” She continued to grin, expecting what was going to be said next. Paul and Zimuel looked at each other and frowned. Then Zimuel sounding just like Paul said, “You mean to tell me you stuck us three times with a needle as big as a garden hose and you could have used this.” He smiled at Paul and said, “I know we don’t believe in divorce on Xhondar I, but we’re not on Xhondar I; what does the new king have to say about divorce?” They all laughed, with Zimuel kissing his wife rather passionately just as they stepped off the elevator.
They microwaved a Stouffers lasagna and ate some toasted and buttered sourdough bread along with a fresh salad covered in tomatoes and honey mustard dressing. Paul actually made a pitcher of sweet tea, the way Mama used to make it. For desert he broke out a ½ gallon of Blue Bell – Mocha Almond Fudge and some Magic Shell. Tlase and Zimuel had never experienced anything quite like it and had a second bowl. Paul laughed and told them, “You realize that this desert contains more calories than everything else we’ve eaten today? Tlase, tomorrow morning you can’t be wimping out on the morning run.” Zimuel nodded his agreement, but then proceeded to tell Tlase the rest of the story about the morning run. She got in one last dig, saying, “Just like a man to think he can find his way without asking for directions,” then turned to Paul and continued, “That is a universal truth, not just an “Earth Thing.” They had a good laugh and got up to clean their dishes only to find their little fury friend eating the leftovers of the lasagna and bread, he was actually clumsily using a fork, even if he was using his hands to put the lasagna on it. They left him alone and continued to load the rest of the dishes in the washer. Paul handed the little guy the remainder of his tea and to his surprise he gulped it right down. “We’ve got to come up with a name for your new friend Tlase,” Zimuel declared. Tlase replied, “I was thinking about naming him Ninety-Nine or N Square. Scientists have discovered 98.5% of a chimpanzee DNA is identical to a human, I figure his is 99.” Paul and Zimuel laughed and agreed. “It may be a stretch with all those DNA’s mixed together, but I still like the name.”
They finally got the leftovers away from
99 and decided to go find the transportation and equipment facility. Lucy directed them to the underground tunnel system and had a 6 passenger tube car waiting for them. After they stepped in and the door closed, Paul knew what it would be like to ride in one of those little cylinders used by the bank drive-through tellers. There was a whooshing sound, and they were gone, arriving at their destination in just minutes. They exited the transit on an upper level mezzanine overlooking the underground equipment garage. When the overhead lights came on they could see vehicles for over a mile. Not only were there a few hundred Transports, but there was virtually every conceivable vehicle Paul could think of that would be needed on Verron. There were trucks of every shape and size, with both open and closed beds. There were dump-trucks, concrete-trucks, garbage-trucks, timber harvesters and grapple skidders, a wide variety of earth moving equipment, cranes and heavy duty-lifting craft. They looked like they could lift more than a Sikorsky Sky-crane and were considerably larger. There was what looked like the flying version of a bus. He didn’t look closely, but it could probably seat at least fifty. Off to one side was a row of equipment that did not resemble anything that Paul had seen before. Zimuel informed him that they were plasma blasters and laser cutters of various kinds for digging in the dense rock. Paul felt comfortable to know that if there was enough equipment in this facility to build the compounds that were already on Verron, then there was definitely enough here to begin building for future growth. He did realize that he would have a need very soon for more than was here, a lot more.
Paul asked, “Anybody need a ride?” Tlase pointed over to a big green boxy looking craft about 50 feet long and said, “I want that.” Paul and Zimuel looked at each other thinking she surely had lost her mind. “What is it, my love?” asked Zimuel. “It’s a mobile laboratory. It can access virtually any place on Verron and do soil samples, water samples, plant life samples and even rock samples, without me ever leaving the vehicle. It was designed for hazardous environments, so I should be safe using it anywhere on the planet. At least the creatures that run wild on Verron can’t get into it, with the exception of you two.” As he turned to leave, Paul said, “You can have anything you want. You deserve it.” Tlase jokingly curtsied and replied, “Thank you, sire.” They all laughed and headed back to Mountain City.
The three managed to have a swim and a good workout in the very well-furnished gym. Ninety-nine sat on the edge and splashed water, wanting no part of swimming, but couldn’t stop playing with the dumbbells in the gym. Paul had once seen a video of the Bar Brothers workout while watching U-Tube and decided to try some of their techniques for himself. It felt and looked strange at first, but proved to be a very good workout. Afterwards Paul convinced them that they needed to brush up on their rusted-up fighting skills. He knew that the Elders had studied Jxansa Gha and that his two friends had not used their skills in a very long time. Even though neither or both were much of a challenge, it felt good to use his skills again after a couple of days off. It surprised him that Tlase was really pretty good with a sword. What she lacked in strength she more than made up for in impeccable timing. When they had all the fun they could stand, they decided to call it a night. As they parted to go their separate ways Zimuel reminded Paul, “Tomorrow all that really needs to be done is take a look at the agricultural area and see just what we have to work with there. After that we need to find a nice spot to work on The Power. I spotted a place when we flew over yesterday. It was a fairly good sized valley, but there did not seem to be a drop of water or vegetation in it; sort of like a high mountain desert. There were tons of boulders strewn about and definitely no one to get hurt should one of your attempts go wild.” Paul smiled, replying, “See you in the morning. Tlase can use Lucy’s trail, do you want to do mine again?” Zimuel smiled and quoted Friedrich Nietzsche, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Paul turned to leave and as he walked away quoted, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” Paul wasn’t sure what made him think of that particular quote, but he knew that it was a subtle warning to be careful of what he becomes as he attempts to do right. As he entered his room he thought, “King Verron” or “King Paul,” both have a good sound to them; who knows, maybe. Lucy said, “Sounds good to me.” He closed the door and headed for the shower.
The next morning, when Paul arrived downstairs to the kitchen, he was greeted by Tlase, Zimuel and 99. They decided to get the run in first then have breakfast before they each took off for their daily tasks. Out the door and down the trail in no time, they soon came to a poorly marked cut-off to the left that was obviously the trail they had missed the day before. Tlase took off down the trail and called for 99 to go with her. Instead he paused a moment and took off after the two men. At first Zimuel tried to turn him away, but saw that it was an exercise in futility. Even though Paul and Zimuel were doing much better on their run today than the day before, due to familiarity of the path, 99 ended up doing much better. When 99 took the first leap across a 20 foot ravine, Paul just knew it was the end for the little four-foot tall creature. By the second hazardous obstacle, Paul realized that the little guy was far better at this than either of them. He thought the thing is part mountain goat and part monkey; of course he’s better than us. Before long Paul was watching closely at everything 99 was doing in front of him. He would find footholds and handholds that Paul had never even noticed before. He never paused on an approach, so his momentum would carry him effortlessly over much greater distances than Paul and Zimuel had been able to do the day before. Paul remembered the old saying, “Monkey see, monkey do” and began to follow 99’s exact movements and realized there was not an ounce of wasted energy or wasted motion as 99 negotiated one obstacle after another. Paul was so caught-up in this follow-the-leader that he soon realized they had left Zimuel far behind. He also realized that they had come farther than the day before just as he watched 99 approach the edge of a cliff overhanging a streambed nearly 200 feet below. The opposite bank was over 70 feet across and fifty feet lower than the approach. In shock, Paul watched little 99 not even slow his pace and spring across, flying effortlessly then landing in a controlled-roll on the opposite side. As he ran, Paul swore to himself that he was going to die, but was not going to let a goat-monkey make him look bad. Without hesitation he sprang with all his strength and soon realized he had overshot the small clearing on his approach. He ended up landing in a group of 40 foot tall trees grabbing onto a horizontal limb in his path and performing a beautifully executed high-flying double twisting dismount with a perfect landing. Kevin Mazeika would have been proud. He then looked around to find 99 staring at him in probable amazement and Zimuel high on the other side of the stream looking down and clapping his hands. He replied, “You’re absolutely crazy if you think I’m going to try that.” Paul bowed and replied, “Problem is I have no idea how I’m going to get back across.”
Before he had even finished speaking, 99 leaped back across the stream and managed to find foot and hand holds to swiftly climb back to the adjacent rise. Paul shook his head and mumbled to himself, “Oh, what the hell” and leaped across the stream for the first foot hold. To his surprise, he made it back across without incident, but nowhere near as easily as his little friend. The trip back to Mountain City was a learning experience for both Paul and Zimuel. Paul had explained to Zimuel what he had been doing by trying to imitate 99. Before long Zimuel was getting the hang of it as well and smiling with glee as he chased after Paul and 99. They had been gone for over 2 hours when they came back up the trail to the kitchen door to a worried Tlase. Ninety-nine raced to her side exited, but pointed toward Paul and continued to repeat, “aul, aul.” Paul was pleased the little guy had learned his name and was shocked when he said, “aul ump.” It was obvious 99 had problems with certain sounds, but his ability to learn a vocabulary did not seem to be impaired. Paul realized that 99 probably had no one to play with or talk to for a very long time; he had become 99’s n
ew playmate.
None of them were very hungry for some reason and grabbed quick showers, a handful of cereal bars and some fruit and were on their way. For some reason 99 had a sense of who he should go with and followed Tlase to the vehicle storage and her mobile research lab. Paul and Zimuel climbed into the Executive Ship and headed west across Verron for what was to be a 6000 mile trip. Of course Paul made it in under an hour. They were headed in a southwestern direction, away from the mountains and tall foot hills, toward terrain that looked very much like Nebraska or Kansas; low rolling hills and massive expanses of flat lands. Trees were mostly along the creeks and river banks, everywhere else there were grassy fields. Along a very wide river that was central to the area, Paul spotted his destination. It looked almost like a typical Midwestern farming community, complete with a water tower, a town hall precisely in the center of town and more single family houses than any other community. There were still more apartment buildings than you’d see back in the states, but all in all it was a nice little town designed for 70-80,000 residents. On the edge of town were grain silos, a mill and a huge equipment yard full of tractors, combines, grain augers and grain trucks. Even at his altitude of 20,000 feet there was nothing as far as the eye could see but wheat fields. Paul looked at Zimuel but spoke, “Lucy, I know less about farming than I do mining, what have we got here?”
Lucy began to fill Paul in on a few things unique about wheat on Verron. “There are at this moment 1,095,542 square miles of wheat ready for harvest on Verron. That is approximately the size of Alaska, Texas and Montana, with average yields of wheat being 12,000 bushels per square mile that should yield 13,146,504,000 bushels of wheat. That is nearly seven times the volume of wheat used on Earth. However, Verron wheat is a native grass that grows wild on this planet. Due to our longer years and extended daylight from two Suns, Verron has the capacity to harvest two crops per year and is not required to replant seeds for each growing period. That advantage allows Verron to grow 26,293,008,000 bushels of wheat per year. The day has come that Xhondar I, II, and III have a demand that far exceeds their capacity for virtually any food commodity. The wheat of Verron has all the amino acids required for complete protein synthesis and a cereal bar made of this wheat will provide ½ of all the protein needed daily for an adult. As you have seen, there is not an abundance of meat, fish or milk on Xhondar. With more than 70 billion people on the three Xhondars, the Elders are looking to you to fill that need, and there are several other star systems in worse shape. This may not be as exciting as a spaceship factory, or a whitematter reactor, but it is one of the main reasons this planet was originally developed.” Paul looked out over the huge fields of grain and replied. “I refuse to let anyone go hungry as long as I have the means to prevent it. From what I see of this equipment yard, there is not enough here to harvest those kinds of volumes.” Once again Lucy was in accord with Paul’s way of thinking, and replied, “Even with combines that are able to harvest at almost twice the rate as an Earth combine working three 12 hour shifts, there is no doubt we will need more capacity.” Paul stressed, “Lucy, I’ve just made food our top priority. Would you please calculate exactly what we will need to get the job done and we will begin to implement a plan.” “As you wish” she answered. “Lucy, what’s up with the ‘as you wish’ every time I ask you for something?” Lucy replied, “Paul, you have watched The Princess Bride forty-seven times. I know you used your grandchildren as an excuse for half of those, but the truth is you loved the movie. ‘As you wish’ was the answer in your own head the first time you asked me to do something. I simply responded with what you wanted to hear.” Paul shrugged as Zimuel gave him a strange look and said, “What, it was a cool movie. You and Tlase should watch it sometime, but I had no idea I’ve watched it that many times.” As they were turning the ship, about to go to their next project, Paul asked, “Lucy, I’m just curious, what does wheat sell for on Xhondar?” Quickly she came back, “The wholesale price of wheat is 5 cronz per bushel. To save you from straining your brain, that is 131,465,040,000 cronz.” Paul felt ashamed for asking, but couldn’t help but smile as he looked over at Zimuel shaking his head.
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