“The Brotherhood obviously has some way to block the weapons' effect on their ships, since they don’t seem to be affected by it,” the Commodore said.
“I agree. I can’t imagine that they have Tottalax crews on all their ships or that all the humans aboard get zapped every time they use the weapon. We need to either capture one of the Brotherhood ships that accompany the Tottalax and examine it, or we need to figure it out on our own. A’Lappe, do you have any ideas as to how to shield against this weapon?”
“Not at the moment Tibby, but Cantolla and I will give it our best efforts.”
Commodore Stonbersa scratched his chin, “Tibby, what do you want us to do now? Continue to Alle Bamma and then to Earth, or do you want us to try to locate the Brotherhood fleet?”
“I see no reason to change our plans or course. We have only the vaguest idea of where the Brotherhood may have headed, we've already alerted the Federation about our encounter. Leave it to the Federation to find and deal with them; right now I feel it’s more important for us to get to Earth. Inside my head, I could hear Jimmy’s voice crying “NO!...NO!” as I envisioned Earth in flames.
It was two days later that we arrived at Alle Bamma. By then the crew had fully recovered, and activities on the ship had returned to normal. Jenira had become very upset by the attack; it seemed to deepen her resolve to be prepared for any kind of situation or attack. If she wasn’t practicing with her swords or martial arts, she was in one of the flight simulators practicing attack strategies. She had never flown an actual craft, but she was so good on the simulators, that she was beating 80% of the seasoned pilots in combat scenarios. I began to be very concerned about Jenira’s obsessions and wondered where things were leading.
My intention was to fly down to the planet surface the next day with Kala to find Thumumba and find out what our dreams, and his calling, were all about. I had dined with my crew and was relaxing in my study watching the fish in the giant aquarium, when suddenly I became aware of someone else in the room. Usually it’s A’Lappe that sneaks into my study, but this time I didn’t sense any of the telltale signs that normally accompanied his intrusions.
Slowly, I turned around to find a distinguished-looking man with jet-black hair that was graying at the temples. He wore an Earth style gray suit in a style that was common in the early twenty-first century, and a dark-blue shirt with a dark-red tie. He was not anyone I had ever seen on my ship before. I was in shock at his sudden appearance. Before I had a chance to speak the man began.
“It’s good to see you again, Man-who- speaks- for -Thumumba.” I immediately recognized the voice as that of Thumumba, but his appearance was hardly like the god entity I had encountered on my first visit to Alle Bamma. The Thumumba I remembered was a tall man with a similar appearance to the natives, with large lenticular shaped eyes, and he had been a full head taller than I am. When I met him then, he wore a head dress that appeared to be alive with growing organisms/live plants blooming from it. This Thumumba looked totally human and was no taller than me. And unlike the Thumumba I had encountered before, who spoke with a pidgin type speech, this Thumumba spoke to me in perfect English. It was the English and not one of the Federation Languages that he spoke and that shocked me the most.
Thumumba smiled, “I detect some confusion about my appearance, I hope I am not startling you too much.” I sat there so stunned I could not think of any response; fortunately, Thumumba continued.
“I have learned a great deal in the past few years since humans first discovered and visited Sweet Home.” Thumumba noticed my confusion and then changed his tact. “I suspect that some more details are needed for you to understand what I am telling you. Before humans came to Sweet Home, I existed in this solar system. Over the millennia, I watched the planets here and saw life begin to evolve on Sweet Home on its own. I observed it and learned that with effort I could manipulate these life forms and the weather elements of this planet. As time progressed I experimented more and more with the life forms; some evolved naturally with little input from me, while I experimented with the evolution of others. Over time the natives whom I think of as my Children evolved, with some involvement on my part. They were the first and only native species on Sweet Home to recognize my existence and to try to communicate with me. The natives saw me as a god, and without knowing better, I assumed I was. I have no recollection of my coming into being or of any others like myself to exist before me or since. It wasn’t until humans discovered Sweet Home and came to the planet that I began to realize that other intelligent beings existed outside of my planetary system. Suddenly, I found myself beginning to question my own divinity and wondering just exactly what I am. You see, if I were truly a god, I would have known of you and had powers over you. When those you call the Brotherhood showed up and began enslaving my children, I discovered my own inabilities. While I had some control over the weather and could communicate with my children on the planet, I was rather impotent when it came to defending and helping them, and I found myself depending on you humans to do what I could not. Still, I did not see you as gods, either; in many ways you were weaker than me and your knowledge of nature seemed far less, but your abilities to move and do things rapidly were needed to free my children. I am unaccustomed to doing things quickly. Many of my feats take years to accomplish. By the time you left Sweet Home, I realized I was not a god, certainly not one that was omnipotent and all powerful. I reasoned I must be some evolved life form, but I have no idea where I came from, or how I evolved.”
As Thumumba talked, I started regaining my composure and began listening to what he was saying. I began to understand that Thumumba was not speaking to me as a god, but as an equal, or at least a near equal.
“So what exactly are you? -- you certainly seem to have the ability to change form at will.”
Thumumba smiled. “You are assuming I am here and in a physical form; I am not. I am neither sitting here in this chair, nor even aboard the ship in any corporeal sense. All that you see of me and experience is all in your mind. Should someone else enter this room now, they would only see you sitting here talking to the air. Of course, I can cause them to see me as you do, or I could have them see me in a completely different way from what you do, but it would all be in their minds.”
“So then you really are communicating with us telepathically and implanting thoughts and images in our minds?” I asked.
“More or less, I do have some influences over elements around me, but it takes time, and if you were observing, you would see little happening in your time frame. Your life spans are short, mere seconds compared to mine, and you only observe things that move very quickly. I have lived millenniums, and for me time moves more slowly. I have actually had to speed up my thinking processes to deal with you and your crew.”
“So what are you then? And where are you?” I asked.
Thumumba smiled. “That is the question I have been asking myself, and I have carefully been trying to break it down the best I can. Here is what I think: I have no physical form as you define it. I seem to have evolved within the star that Sweet Home orbits, and I derive energy and power from the reactions that fuel the star. Precisely how that happened I do not know, nor do I know if there are other entities such as myself in other stars who have evolved like I have, but I suspect there are.”
“I see,” I said, “I think I see where you are going with this. You want to know if we have encountered others like you or know of others like you.”
“It’s actually a bit more than that. I have discovered that my awareness only seems to extend as far as the outer planets that orbit this sun. However, you and Kala became a part of me when the organic materials I created became part of you when you were poisoned with elements from Alle Bamma. Now I have found that at times I am able to pick up and learn things from your minds, even though you are far removed from me. Unfortunately, that connection is weak and hard for me to focus on the further you get away from Sweet Home. I desire to learn even
more about what lies outside this solar system, to discover if there are others like me and to find a way to reach out and communicate with them; I think I have found a way, if you are willing.”
I was not exactly sure where this conversation was leading, and it was making me feel a bit uneasy. “How do you plan to do that, and how does it involve me?” I asked.
Thumumba grinned, “It’s nothing like you fear, Tibby. You don’t mind if I call you Tibby, do you? Man-who-speaks-for-Thumumba seems so tedious.”
“It does seem a bit wordy,” I confessed. “What do you have in mind?”
“I would like for you to accept one of my children from the planet as a member of your crew.” I am better able to see through their eyes and communicate with them over long distances, and they could be my eyes and ears outside of this system.”
I wrinkled my brow in thought about his suggestion. While the citizens of Alle Bamma, which means” Sweet Home” in their native tongue are likeable people, they are ignorant of technology and their language crude and unsophisticated. They were an arboreal society living in trees, more like monkeys on Earth, and I was having a hard time imagining how one of the natives would adapt to the ship; I wondered if the shock might not undo one of these simple folks.
“I sense your concerns, Tibby.” Thumumba said, as he carefully studied me. “You have nothing to fear in that sense. The child of mine I have selected for this mission is not like the others of his tribe. I have educated him in many of your ways, and much of the knowledge you and Kalana possess is already in his mind.”
“If I take him on as a crew member, what services could he provide?”
“I believe you have a number of gardens on this ship. Regata is rather adept at caring for plants, and as time passes I am confident you will find him to be a quick learner. I am positive he will be of use in many other areas as well.”
“You do realize that there are many things going on that I am involved in? I simply can’t go flying your representative about the Universe looking for another of your kind, with a war taking place; there are other matters that I must attend to.”
Thumumba held up his hands with his palms turned out toward me, “Not a problem at all, Tibby, I hardly have any idea where to begin a search in any case. I simply wish him to travel with you as you go about whatever it is you do. Regata will observe and learn. Should you happen to get to a star system where another like me exists, he is capable of sensing their presence and hopefully making contact with them, creating a link for me to be able to communicate with that entity through him. You will need to make no special accommodations for him beyond what you would for any other of your crew.”
Thumumba was presenting a good case for his plan, and while it didn’t seem to have anything of significance to offer me, I couldn’t see any harm in it, either.
“Very well, I’ll take him along.”
“Excellent! You may pick him up tomorrow morning, if it is convenient. I hope you and Kalana will personally come to the surface to pick him up. Jnanara and my children will be pleased to see and welcome you again.” As he was speaking it, struck me how close Jnanara and Jenira’s names were alike. Thumumba unexpectedly paused, and I realized he had picked up on my thoughts.
“Ahh, Kenan Natoo --the one who refuses to speak.”
“Kenan Natoo?” That means Protector of Children in the native language on Alle Bamma, doesn’t it?”
Thumumba smiled, “Yes Protector of Children. She will become a great one, Tibby, a protector of your children and of mine; in her care they will always be safe.”
“You can see the future?” I asked suddenly, for he had spoken as though he had some foresight knowledge of things to be. He smiled, “Not in such a way as you would understand. If I could see into the future, I would know the answers to all the questions I wish to resolve, but it doesn’t work that way. However, I can sense timelines of things, events that may happen, and in that way I sense that she will be a protector of your children.” Then he paused and said, “I have taken enough of your time. Come to Sweet Home in the morning and land by the shore near where you first met Jnanara and my children. Regata will meet you there.” I blinked my eyes, and I found myself sitting alone in my study.
Shortly after breakfast the next morning, Kalana and I were about to enter the shuttle for the planet surface when Jenira came into the hangar bay in an excited manner and began signing rapidly.
“Slow down Jenira, I can’t read what you are saying when you sign so fast.” Jenira paused and then with a look of frustration on her face and a determined slowness and emphasis, she signed. “Take me with you to the surface.”
“Why? Why should I take you, and why do you want to go?”
Jenira began signing again, this time at a normal pace, “I had a dream. I dreamed of a tall man with strange eyes, he had hair that was like grass, flowers, and leaves. In my dream, he said I should come with you and Kalana in the morning.”
“I see.” I glanced over to Kala who raised an eyebrow. “Well, I do not believe it will hurt for you to come along.” Jenira practically leaped aboard the shuttle before Kala and I had a chance to enter.
Once we were underway to the surface, Kala asked, “What do you think this is all about?” as she nodded toward Jenira.
“I don’t know. Yesterday when Thumumba visited me in the study, he mentioned something that Jenira will become a great one and her being a protector for my children. I have a hunch that this has something to do with his statement.” I looked about to see where Jenira was but didn’t see her in the common area on the shuttle. When I looked into the control room, I was surprised to see her sitting in the copilot seat next to Marranalis, who was instructing Jenira on flying the shuttle.
“Very good,” Marranalis said. “You do that as well as some of our pilots do. How long have you been flying in the simulators?” Jenira signed something back, but I could not see her hands. Marranalis replied, “Only that long, and you have learned all of this on your own? That’s amazing. It’s too bad you can’t speak, you have to be able to speak in order to communicate with other Federation ships , landing pads and space ports for landing and flight instructions.” I saw Jenira hang her head, and then she lifted it; I thought for a moment she was going to speak. Instead, she signed a thank you to Marranalis, rose out of the copilot seat, and came back and joined Kala and me.
“Marranalis, let me fly the shuttle for a bit,” she signed quickly with a big smile on her face.
“We saw that. Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, very much. I want to learn to fly all kinds of ships.”
“That will be difficult if you cannot talk,” I said, hoping that she might try to and speak again.
“Perhaps,” she signed, “but I’m sure I will think of some way to overcome that.”
Marranalis’s voice came over the shuttle com system, “We’re approaching the landing location; all I can see are trees and a few lakes. I have the coordinates of where we set down last time, and I am trying for that location.” On hearing his announcement, Jenira turned and headed back into the control room.
“You don’t think he’ll let Jenira land this thing, do you?”
Kala grinned, “Not unless he thinks she is good enough, but I suspect that on this mission he will not let her attempt it.”
Marranalis brought the ship down over the small lake and then rotated the craft, trying to find the natural avenue under the giant trees that we had flown our patrol ship in over a year earlier. Once he found it, we proceeded in until we arrived at a location that looked like our previous landing site. Through the view screen, I could see the greenery of the jungle, but I didn’t see any natives.
“We have arrived!” Marranalis announced, as he began shutdown procedures for the shuttle. "It hasn’t changed much has it, Tibby?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. I wonder where Regata and Jnanara are. Thumumba implied that they would be here waiting. I guess we should go outside to wait for them.”
There was a hiss of air as the hatch opened; Jenira was practically jumping up and down with excitement, as this would be the first world other than Goo’Waddle that she would set foot on. Immediately we were hit with the near 100% humidity of the planet’s atmosphere and the sauna like heat. Jenira reacted to it by rubbing the back of her hand across her brow as a sheen of sweat began to appear. I chuckled and then began to scan the jungle and trees for any sign of native life.
It seemed like one minute I was staring at the jungle plants and then suddenly the plants themselves turned into the native children of Thumumba. I realized that they had been there all the time, but they were so well camouflaged that they blended perfectly into the environment. It was not until they began to smile and move that they were visible. Before us, two individuals appeared from what moments earlier appeared to be two bushes; one was an old woman, nude save for a woven plant head dress; I recognized her immediately as Jnanara.
“Greetings, woman-who-speaks-for-the-Children-of –Thumumba,” I said.
“Greetings, man-who-speaks-for-Thumumba,” Jnanara replied. “The children of Thumumba rejoice in your return.” While she was speaking, several other natives came forward with giant nut shells filled with fruits and berries and offered them to us. Jnanara continued talking. “This is Regata, Thumumba says he is to go with you and to learn your ways.” She stepped aside as the native with her stepped forward. His overall appearance was much like the other natives, except he was about 75 millimeters taller.
“It’s my pleasure to meet you, Tibby, or do I address you as First Citizen?” Regata said in perfect Federation Language.
“Tibby will do,” I replied, “I hate the honorifics. Regata flashed me a toothy grin and then turned to Kala.
“And you must be Kalana,” Regata said. “Thumumba speaks highly of you both; I am deeply honored that he has chosen me to accompany you.”
Solbidyum Wars Saga 4: Too Late for Earth Page 10