“Whoa, Nelly,” Alice said. “Where in the wheat field did you find that?”
“Don’t know,” Shan replied. “New stuff is just there.”
“The memory fade can’t happen quickly enough,” Amy muttered.
It was indeed a place for sentient beings like us to stay although it felt more like a motel than a private residence. We walked into a large, common area/family room with plenty of seating, low tables and what appeared to be a non-working TV. There were four complete bedrooms and an even more complete kitchen with a working replicator, stove and refrigerator.
As I was watching Amy, Shan and M2 sorting out things for dinner, I heard the sound of running water from down the hallway.
“Halleluiah!” Alice shouted. “Hot showers for everyone. There’s even a stack of honest-to-God towels. It’s a day of miracles.”
“What are hot showers?” Shan asked.
“You are in for a real treat, Shan,” Amy said.
Now that we were inside, YDRII located the interface panel for the house computer and was, according to Moses, learning as much as possible from the pliable unit. The kitchen staff was soon all male, including Blue whose interest was totally in the kitchen. as the girls descended on the bathroom. They lay claim to one of the bedrooms then all three took turns in the shower. I was wondering about the capacity of the hot water tank, but it seemed to be limitless. After about an hour, the girls appeared all fresh and beaming to take charge of dinner.
“That was radical,” Shan said gleefully. Her hair stood frizzed out from static electricity, which somehow made her even more appealing.
We boys then took to the showers. About twenty minutes later, I was finished and feeling good. It was quite a jolt to look in a mirror and for an instant see a stranger. Staring back at me was a wrinkle-free younger man. His gray hair was growing out, showing dark roots. I examined the back of my hands. The age spots were gone. This was really something. I must have preened too much because Harry interrupted my mirror time.
“Easy there, my man,” he said. “Didn’t you notice Alice and me ageing in reverse?”
I looked. He was right, I hadn’t. I suppose the change was so gradual that I just adjusted without the change registering. “Has Alice said anything to you?”
“Yes, but just to wonder how long it would be before you’d notice,”
“Only because we haven’t been near a mirror until now,” I said, as I picked up small scissors to trim off the gray.
“Here.” Harry said, “Let me do that.” He took the instrument and I quickly said goodbye to old age. “I’m keeping mine for a while,” Harry said.
“On you it looks good,” I told him.
Alice walked in. How could I not have noticed the change? My dark hair brought a wide smile that swiftly turned into a grin. “Hi, handsome,” she said.
“I feel dumb for not noticing,” I said, “but hubba hubba, you look terrific.”
“Yeah,” she snorted, “but I’m still the wicked witch of the west, so behave yourself. Besides, it’s dinner time.”
I checked my memory of the last few weeks to see if Amy or Shan had shown some interest in old Jimmy boy, but that well was dry.
The ladies served dinner at a fair sized table in the kitchen. I could see that Moses approved of the selection of food that was familiar to him. The one exception to the assortment was the Spam on my plate. Shan also had a slice after sniffing the product, as did Blue who gulped his down and asked for more. I told Alice that I wanted to leave the empty can here to mess with future explorers.
Throughout the meal, we all had been passing bits of food to Blue until Shan called a halt to his feast. “If you feed him too much, he will get fat, lazy and be of no value as a hunter or defender. James is what you call, a soft touch, so perhaps I should be the only one to feed him. Is that okay?”
I had no counter argument so I agreed and Shan explained it to Blue.
“No hard feelings, old buddy,” I said to him, but he just sat quietly next to Shan who was now his only source.
At dinner’s end, YDRII joined us to tell us what he had learned from the house computer. “The unit’s construction is very similar to mine except that its degree of self-awareness grew in the absence of humans. I think that is what has given rise to its odd behavior.
“Its function is as it has stated and it has done its job quite well. The power source for this dwelling is geothermal and stable. In the past, the surrounding buildings did have managing computers with which it could communicate, but one by one they fell silent over time. There were also others scattered over this area, but they have all gone silent. For some reason the absent population was not very large. Unfortunately, it is unaware of the reason that all the humans went away. It did make one request and that was to take it with us if we did not plan to stay here.”
YDRII fell silent as we all digested this new information.
“That would make it eleven in our party,” Alice said, her cheek resting on the palm of one hand. “I’m just glad it doesn’t need socks and underwear. And, Amy, we’ll need a name for it.”
“How big is it and where is it?” Harry asked.
“It is smaller than your closed fist and it resides behind the access panel.” YDRII replied.
“Can you just yank it out?” M2 asked.
“The disconnect will be relatively simple with its cooperation. I will have to adjust some of its programs to make its mind more similar to mine, but I anticipate no difficulties. It has a small auxiliary power supply.”
“We’ll have to discuss this,” M1 said, “but first we need to decide whether or not to further investigate this area. It looks pretty thin on anything that would be of use to us. Any comments?”
“Considering the task,” Harry said, “I think we’ve been making the right decisions. This reminds me of a guided tour I signed up for many years ago. It covered almost the whole of Northern Italy in five days. Our guide moved the group like the wind. At times we had barely enough time to focus our eyes on a new vista before she yelled, ‘Avante! Avante!’ I saw it all, but it really wasn’t much fun. Years later, I went back and experienced what I missed.
“My point here is that as important as our job is, we shouldn’t keep our focus too narrow. First, we may miss something if we hurry too much and second, this should be as enjoyable as possible. I’m having fun and I want to see everything.”
“Harry,” Alice said, “that’s a great point. I’m glad you came along.”
“Does this mean we’re going to town?” M2 asked.
“It’s a seven-mile hike,” M1 said. “All in favor, say ‘Dr. Scholl’s’.”
The vote was positive, but we decided to wait until the next morning. YDRII had long since estimated that the day length on this planet was just over twenty-six hours. If we left at dawn and allowed four hours for the hike, we would have at least six hours to explore if we chose to be back well before dark. The gas giant had progressed to where it was not visible at night. The younger James was okay with a seven-mile hike. My energy level was up and I was eager to test my stamina.
“Here’s something for speculation,” M2 said. “I measured the gauge on the tracks we followed. It’s four feet, eight and a half inches.”
“I need more than that to speculate,” Alice said. “What’s a gauge on the tracks?”
“Gauge is a measurement—a distance between the rails,” M2 said, “The gauge on the railroad here is a very standard gauge on Earth. It’s the same as the railroad in the Hollow Mountain, which makes it an interesting coincidence.”
“I find it interesting in the extreme,” M1 said. “Almost too much to be a coincidence.”
Because of our current suspicions, we couldn’t discuss it further. We had the rest of the day so we found things to do. The two boys dug crowbars out of their packs and went to see if they could jimmy open a door on one of the other dwellings. Moses verified that the TV was useless because it was only a signal receiver so we
sat around the table. Amy had earlier told Shan the story about how our adventure began. Now it was my turn to complete the tale up until the time that Amy came into the picture. The story took a while because Shan kept interrupting when I mentioned everyday objects with which she was unfamiliar. She was a fast learner, but when one does not even know the meaning of pencil, it can slow down the conversation. However, I persevered and eventually finished.
Alice produced a pack of cards with the intent to teach Shan and Amy the way of the world via poker. Harry happily joined in, but I wasn’t in the mood. I got up and decided to go see what the two M’s were doing and maybe have a stogie.
I had just reached the doorway when I collided with the boys rocketing through at top speed. I landed on my back and skidded about eight feet. Before I had a chance to lift my head to look at the doorway, I saw two shotgun barrels appear directly overhead and heard the clicks of safety releases.
“What the hell is heading our way?” I said, as I rose up, both to see and if necessary, scramble away.
It was the big lady. Her enormous head poked through the doorway with ears at attention. I thanked the forces that watched over us that her head was the only thing that could squeeze through the opening.
“WHUF!” she said, and then just looked at us quizzically.
By then the rest of the gang joined us and we stood in a half-circle, looking back at the intimidating snout.
“We were busy trying to open a nearby door,” M2 said, “when she came charging full tilt. We didn’t want to shoot the old girl, so we tried to break our old college track record.
“Okay, what do we do now?” Alice asked.
“That’s some cork in our door,” Harry said, “and as far as I know, it’s our only exit.”
“Shazam!” Shan said. “That is one big mothe…”
Alice had moved quickly behind our little alien and clamped one hand over her mouth. “I’ll have a talk with her in private,” she said.
“Oh, Lord,” Amy said. “If she has my complete vocabulary, I’m in deep doo doo.”
“The big beauty’s head is over three feet tall,” I said, “and I’ll bet that it alone weighs as much as I do.”
While I was talking, Blue approached the pumpkin-sized snout. The huge ears bent down to hover over him like dual umbrellas. He sniffed, his tail bounced and he gave her a lick. With that, the tension level dropped to zero.
“The animal is highly intelligent and is curious,” YDRII said, hovering behind us.
“Man, I’m glad we didn’t plug her.” M2 said.
“You okay, James?” Alice said, as she dusted my back.
“I’m fine,” I replied, “but we haven’t answered the question about what to do with her. I think I’d like to pet that soft and silky snout.”
“Do it with caution,” She said.
I approached to about four feet, squatted and slowly reached to touch the big nose. I expected it to be as soft and silky as that of a horse, but I was in for a new experience. Her fine snout hair was exquisite to the touch, like nothing I had ever felt. My fingertips tingled and sent a shiver of pleasure directly to the front of my brain. No massage could compete with this. I checked the hair on her forehead; the side of her head and under her jaw and the sensation was the same. Two hands were even better and soon I was feeling all over her head as she remained docile and let me have my way.
“Jeez, James,” M2 asked, “what’s the deal? You got a new girlfriend?”
I motioned for him to join me and all it took was one touch.
“Move over, pal,” he said and got busy with both hands.
“This is creepy,” Amy said. “You guys aren’t in the red light district. Besides, I’m jealous.” She turned to YDRII. “Are those guys under some sort of control or something.”
“I sense nothing suspicious,” he said. “She just seems to be nice to the touch.”
That did it. In seconds, Band members inundated her. Sixteen hands were stroking everyplace on her head except her eyes and her fist-sized nostrils.
“She is enjoying the attention,” YDRII reported.
That was good to know because I don’t think any of us could have stopped, even if she didn’t like it. I was at my original position on one knee, to one side of that massive head, busy stroking the hair. I didn’t notice when the big ear on my side lowered to cover my head like an Alpine hat. My companions failed to notice that my hands had ceased all movement. I also failed to notice that my hands had ceased all movement because my brain was in another place. It was not a bad or uncomfortable place, but wildly strange. A Terran, bovine mind meld was underway. I was sharing her thoughts and I assume she was sharing mine. It wasn’t like communicating in words or images. I sensed the broad, slow movement of the world around us. The concepts were gigantic, yet simple and basic; thirst and water; hunger and food; sunshine and shade; day and night and the companionship of the herd. I don’t know how or why, but I knew that these things were not her message. Something was hurting the skin of her back in three places and she was asking me to help. As I became aware of her request, the big ear lifted and the meld was over. I had to massage my forehead to bring myself around and when I opened my eyes I saw all of my friends staring at me.
“What the hell happened?” Alice demanded.
“How long was I under her spell?” I asked.
“Less than two minutes. YDRII said you were in no danger so we didn’t pull you out from under the Sorting Hat. You looked like an overage student at Hogwarts… So what happened?”
“Something wonderful,” I said. “I saw the world through her eyes and I highly recommend it to you all, but she wasn’t doing it for show. She wanted me to know that she has three sore spots on the skin on her back and I assume she wants me or us to fix whatever is wrong.”
I was not sure how to proceed so I just stood up, placed my hand flat on her forehead, pushed and followed her as she backed out of the doorway. Once outside, M1 and M2 hiked me up to get a peek at her back. The rest of the crew started to stroke her, but that was more to feel her hair than to comfort her. There was a lot of real estate up there, but it was easy to see what was troubling the old girl. High on her rump were three savage looking barbed thorns in a tight clump. The area had significant swelling and some bleeding around each of the ugly objects.
I asked for and received a numbing spray, a tube of disinfectant salve and needle-nose pliers. This was not a job for tweezers. Once the numbing spray had time to work, I took hold of the first large thorn with the pliers, twisted away from the curve and drew it out. It was a good three inches long and very ugly. The other two came out easily, then I massaged in a thick dollop of the salve.
When the boys lowered me, I showed the offenders to the big lady. I dropped them contemptuously to the ground, thinking to stomp on them, but the big lady was there first. Her giraffe-sized hoof beat the things into the ground then scuffed dirt over their resting place. As soon as the thorns received their stomping, she waved her ears in all directions then nuzzled me affectionately. The size differential was so great that I felt more pummeled than stroked. All the while Alice was standing on the other side of the animal’s head with her own head directly under one great ear that was still waving back and forth. “I’d like a mind meld,” she said, “but she doesn’t seem interested and I just took a shower.”
“This thing is a girl and James is a guy,” Harry said, standing directly in front with one hand resting on the big forehead.
“More likely it’s because she has nothing to transmit,” I said. “We solved her problem and she’s happy.”
“Company’s coming!” M2 sang out.
We looked around and saw several of big mama’s sisters appear from as many directions including the woods to our rear.
“Could this be a threat?” M1 asked YDRII.
“I sense no aggression,” YDRII said.
“After that mind meld,” I said, “I wouldn’t worry about any of them.”
More animals emerged from distant bushes. By the time the last one joined our group I counted sixteen of the chestnut beauties and all of them were girls. As the animals arrived, we witnessed a whole lot of ear-to-ear contact as they exchanged news and pleasantries.
We all moved around to pet the new arrivals and one by one the Dance Band, including Moses and Shan each got the mind meld, but all from different animals.
“That was major therapy,” Alice said, while still stroking her animal.
“Yet another fortune dropped in our laps,” Harry crooned. “I could charge fifty bucks a minute and have takers lined up around the block. It’s a shame we won’t need money anymore.”
“The real shame,” M2 said, “is that we can’t take them with us—or can we?”
M1 kept petting his animal. “We’ll think about it. I like the idea, but the logistics may not work. YDRII, I have an idea. If we could ride these beauties, I’ll bet that they could ferry us to the city in less than half the time it would take us to walk. Is there any chance that you could express this request to them?”
“I will try,” YDRII replied. “For the past little while I have been in touch with this first animal and have been able to establish a form of communication. There is no language, but there are concepts and as I have said, they are highly intelligent animals.”
M1 had a quick conference with Alice, M2 and Moses. “It’s about noon,” he said. “If we could use the animals as taxis, we could go there, look around and be back before dark. This would save us one whole day.”
We all loved the idea of a ride on these princesses so YDRII made the request. About two minutes later, he reported that my animal granted our request and each of us was to ride the animal with which he or she had mind melded. It took only seconds for us to grab our packs and guns. M1 and M2 helped the rest of us to climb aboard then they did the same by using a chair from inside the building. We were ready to go.
CHAPTER 24
We moved out in single file. M1 and M2 were in the lead and the animals without riders brought up the rear. Blue trotted along at the side of Shan’s mount. As riders, we did look a little odd because we all hunched over to keep our hands in contact with that fabulous fur. The big beauties were following established paths down through the valley. This meant that we were not going exactly straight, but they walked at close to ten miles per hour, so we covered a lot of ground in a short time. No one fell off because the animals were able to mold their skin around our rear ends to provide a secure seat.
LOST AND FORGOTTEN: Book 2 The Secret Path Page 17