Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five

by Michael Brachman

  They continued traveling until they reached a distance of over 40 kilometers from the edge of the city. It was at this point, the southwestern corner of Lake Eprehem, when the shoreline began to curve gently to the north.

  “Nothing,” Rei said, disgustedly. “For all we know, he’s wearing the Deucadon invisibility cloak. And we’re way more than one day’s walk. Anybody have any ideas?” he asked, looking up at Rome and Bonnie.

  Rome pointed to her MIDAR display. “I suggest we go back to the edge of Ur and travel on foot. While we may not be able to detect Steele’s presence, we may be able to find a trail.”

  “You’re going to track him?” Rei asked, somewhat taken aback.

  “If that’s what you call it,” Rome answered confidently.

  “Won’t that leave you kind of exposed?” Bonnie interjected.

  “We will have MINIMCOM hover directly over us in stealth mode.” Rome tapped on the front console. “You’ll stay aboard and watch the displays. MINIMCOM’s instruments should be able to pick up any motion or IR signature. Something. Anything. Steele will reveal his position eventually.”

  “Rome’s idea is even better than that,” Rei said enthusiastically. “If I close my eyes, I can use my sonar vision to map out the area. That’s how I found the Deucadons in the first place. They thought they were invisible but they weren’t sound-proof.”

  “Then we are agreed,” Rome said. “MINIMCOM?”

  “On it,” replied the starship. He executed a stunning barrel roll and quickly accelerated due east returning to the spot where he had picked up Rei and Rome. They departed via the cargo ramp. Rei kept on the Deucadon cloak but Rome discarded her ‘disguise’ as she no longer needed it.

  They stood in place and watched the spaceship rise until he was just higher than the treetops. The airframe shimmered and then MINIMCOM was gone.

  So what can possibly go wrong, wandering into the woods with a skilled assassin who could be anywhere? Let's find out.

  Entry 5-270: September 27, 2017

  The Blankets - 1

  Yesterday, Rome and Rei decided to track down Dan Steele, one of the would-be assassins, on foot. They entered the woods at the western edge of the resort city of Ur. They didn't really have a plan other than to use Rome's enhanced vision and Rei's super-hearing with MINIMCOM hovering overhead looking for motion or a heat signature. What they found will shock you!

  “OK, my fearless tracker,” Rei said. “Where do we start?”

  Rome twisted in place and looked back at the city then turned to look forward. “There is no reason why Steele would take a circuitous route. We just need to align ourselves to Troutman’s house and then go west. Steele would stay somewhat close to Lake Eprehem. He would need water and food.”

  “Yeah, but that little river we saw means he didn’t have to stay just by the shoreline.”

  “He would if he wanted to catch swishies,” Rome said. “We have to start somewhere.”

  “OK, let’s do it,” Rei said. He closed his eyes and OMCOM’s ‘gift’, his sonar vision, kicked in. The sound of their footsteps was good enough to ‘illuminate’ the trail. Rei swept his head left and right and stopped almost immediately.

  “What?” Rome asked.

  “You were right,” Rei said. He opened his eyes and trotted over to the edge of first stand of cane-trees then stooped down. Clustered at the base of the trees were the ubiquitous sticky bushes.

  “Here,” he said, pointing to a bush. “Someone’s been by here. You can see where some of the leaves were pulled off. The leaves stick to everything.”

  “Excellent,” Rome said. “Let us continue in that direction.”

  They parted the bushes and entered into the forest proper. Through the occasional break in the trees, Rei looked up but saw nothing. At one point, he called up to MINIMCOM who assured him that he was directly overhead.

  Deeper and deeper they went. Occasionally, Rei thought he heard a rustling noise overhead but when he examined the leaf canopy carefully, using sonar, he detected nothing. However, as they marched along, Rei’s sonar vision was able to find small scuffs, more leaves pulled and where the ground was softer, the occasional footprint.

  “This is easy,” Rei said, smiling. “Who knew?” He trotted on ahead.

  “Try to go a little slower,” Rome cautioned. “Your special sight lets you manage your way around the trees but I still have to use my eyes.”

  “Sure,” Rei called back to her but something ahead caught his attention. “There,” he said, darting forward. “I found a…”

  Suddenly, Rome screamed. Rei whipped around and saw a ‘falling blanket’, one of the largest he’d ever seen, draped over his wife.

  “Rei!” Rome shouted mentally, “I can’t breathe.”

  Oh no! Could this be the end of our darling Rome? Let's find out.

  Entry 5-271: September 28, 2017

  The Blankets - 2

  Yesterday, Rome and Rei had entered the woods to the west of the resort city of Ur. They were trying to track down Dan Steele, the one remaining would-be assassin. Unfortunately, one of the "falling blankets", the floppy creatures that hover above, in the trees, had fallen on Rome, trapping her and suffocating her. Will Rei be able to save her?

  “Rei!” Rome shouted mentally, “I can’t breathe.”

  Rei raced back to where the bundled form of his wife was writhing around on the ground. He straddled her body and pulled on the edge of the ‘blanket’ with all his might. The thing wouldn’t budge. He could feel its leathery skin constricting around her.

  “Rome, Rome,” he said helplessly. What he saw was the end of his life before him. The woman he loved more than humanly possibly was suffocating in front of his eyes. There was no way he was going to let this happen. He took a deep breath and pulled once more with all his might. Suddenly, the ‘blanket’ released its grip and Rei went somersaulting backwards over Rome and onto the ground.

  The ‘blanket’ removed itself from Rome’s form but she just lay on the ground, shaking. Rei got up and went over to her. He peered down at her. She was laughing.

  “Why are you laughing?” Rei asked, reaching down for her. “You almost died.”

  “It’s alive!” Rome said, excitedly, pulling herself to her feet. “It’s alive!”

  “Of course it’s alive,” Rei said.

  “No,” Rome replied. She turned and looked at the ‘blanket’ which was beginning to curl itself up like a rug. Once it was a tight cylinder, it bent at the middle into an ‘L’ shape. Rome went over and caressed it.

  “What are you doing?” Rei asked. “Those things are dangerous.”

  “No,” Rome said. “When I was touching it, it spoke to me.”

  “It spoke to you?”

  “Yes!” Rome said.

  Suddenly, there was a sound like a whump and another ‘falling blanket’, even larger than the first, fell in front of them. It wriggled its way over to the first one, the one that had covered Rome and curled itself up into a cylinder as well, leaning against the first. There was another whump then another. Soon, there were so many ‘falling blankets’ that Rei realized for the first time how very much in danger their lives were every time they went into the forest.

  The living creatures climbed over each other forming a tower nearly ten feet tall. Some of the blankets stretched over the ends to form an approximation of limbs. Along the ground, some of the smaller ‘blankets’ climbed up and inched their way toward the end. When the whole process was complete, the entity in front them looked vaguely humanoid. Huge, but humanoid nonetheless. Each of the components tightened up then the composite creature held its ‘arms’ out, beckoning to Rome. There was no hesitation in her actions. She walked toward the mass in front of her and let it/them envelope her in the equivalent of their arms.

  “Rome!” Rei shouted. “Do you know what you are doing?”

  Isn't that the coolest image? One blanket alone was one thing but now they are face to face with an entire colony.
And Rome can "talk" to them! What do you think they have to say?

  Entry 5-272: September 29, 2017

  The Blankets - 3

  Yesterday, Rome was not only not killed by a falling blanket, she was able to communicate with it and an entire colony of falling blankets group together in a vaguely humanoid construct. Rome walked up to mass of blankets and let it hug her. Rei was fascinated and horrified at the same time:

  “Rome!” Rei shouted. “Do you know what you are doing?”

  “Yes,” answered Rome, her voice somewhat muffled through the leathery flesh of the creatures holding her. “It wants to talk.”

  She twisted around and looked upward into the coils of ‘blankets’ that would have been its face. She stared, enraptured, as it filled her mind with imagery and substance. Finally, she nodded and turned back to Rei, still held within the grasp of the composite creature.

  “These are the living embodiment of Deucado,” Rome intoned. “They have been here for millions upon millions of years.”

  “What do they want?” Rei asked, somewhat frightened of the sight before him.

  “They want nothing,” Rome said. “They have dedicated their existence to surviving from day to day. So it has been for eons.”

  “Was there anything before?” Rei asked, catching the implication.

  “Before that, they were living, sentient beings, like us. They were vertebrates. They roamed this planet and continued to evolve for ten million years during the time when the sky stopped raining its punishing stones upon them.”

  “So then what happened?” Rei asked. “How did they become what…what they are?”

  “They tried to live,” Rome continued. “They went down under the ground. All those caves we have found. They were built by their ancestors. They used…” Rome struggled to find the words. “They used hand tools and magma guns, like the hoses your firefighters once used, to carve out gigantic caves, to protect them from the asteroids pummeling the planet.”

  “So all those caves…” Rei stuttered. “They were built by hand?”

  “Many of them,” Rome said, almost hypnotically. “But it was not enough. After a long break, once again, death came down upon them from above.”

  Rei started to speak then stopped.

  “As a planet, every creature decided, the fear, the pain, it was no way to live. They decided, as an entire world, to devolve into the adaptable forms you see today. No bones, no worries. They live, they die. Each day becomes the next. There has been peace, tranquility, even happiness, ever since.”

  Rei snapped his fingers. “Then those fossils, the ones that Wally found. They were real. That was what they looked like before?”

  There you have it. I've been setting you up for this over the last eight years. Deucado is an amazing world and a testament to the tenacity of life.

  Entry 5-273: September 30, 2017

  The Blankets - 4

  Yesterday we saw that through psychic contact with the blankets, Rome was able to solve many of the mysteries of Deucado that had confounded scientists since they arrived on the planet. Many of the planet's caves which looked artificial, were, in fact, built by the ancestors of the blankets when they had intellect and bones. The planet only experienced a brief respite from the continual bombardment from the sky so all the lifeforms of the planet decided to devolve into a more adaptable form.

  Rome looked up at the top of the being holding her. She nodded. “Yes,” Rome answered. “That was their original form. Now they are nothing but blankets and swishies. Even the plants were involved. There used to be a multitude of species on this world. The plants decided on the cane-tree form, the sticky bushes, the threadgrass and the flowers. That was all they needed to survive from one generation to the next.”

  “So this whole planet, with next to no diversity, was a conscious decision on the part of the indigenous population to survive the rain of meteors and the like?”

  “Yes,” Rome answered. “That was their solution. And for millions upon millions of years, it worked. They had given up all hope and all the associated pain to live in the forms you see in front of you.”

  “Can you tell them that we have figured out how to stop the things from falling out of the sky?”

  “Yes,” Rome said. “They know. And they do appreciate it. That is why they did not kill me. They just never had anyone to talk to before.”

  “Oh wow,” Rei said, walking up to where Rome was standing. He reached out with his hand and stroked the leather-like surface of the creature nearest to him. He thought he felt a vibration, almost like a cat’s purr, beneath his caress.

  “So now what?” Rei asked. “They know we’re here. We know they’re here. Where do we go?”

  “They do nothing. Life goes on as before. However, they understand that there are other humans trying to harm us. And they want to help.”

  “They do?” Rei asked. “How?”

  “They know where Steele is hiding!” Rome said, giddily.

  “Omigod,” Rei said. “Where?”

  “It is far but they will lead us,” Rome answered. The composite creature released its grip on her and slowly, each of the animals making up its body climbed down and away. Soon there was nothing left but the original ‘blanket’ that had tried to engulf Rome.

  “I don’t understand,” Rei said.

  “Look,” Rome replied, pointing past Rei.

  Rei turned around and saw ‘blanket’ after ‘blanket’ forming a path like you’d see when people used logs to line a road, leading into the woods.

  “And we just follow them?” Rei asked.

  “Yes,” Rome said proudly. She walked up and put her arm through Rei’s elbow. Gently, she tugged him forward. “We just follow them to Steele’s hideout.”

  Wow! An entire scout team to lead them to Steele's hideout. Let's get going!

  Entry 5-274: October 1, 2017

  My EcoSphere, part 1 of 2

  About five years ago, one of my stepsons got me an EcoSphere as a Hanukah present. It is a really neat novelty item, endlessly fascinating and while I am on my second one, the thing lasts for years. The EcoSphere looks like this:

  It is an enclosed glass sphere with a branch-like thing, some algae and some tiny shrimp swimming around. How do they breath, you ask. The reason it is called an EcoSphere is because it is an entire ecosystem, completely balanced. Here is how it works:

  When I was constructing the ecosystem for my fictional world of Deucado, I used the EcoSphere as my inspiration to keep the number of animals and plants to a minimum, mostly because I am lazy. Here is how I worked it into the story:

  Not quite believing what he had just witnessed, Rei contacted MINIMCOM with his EM link and did his best to explain Rome’s encounter with the ‘falling blankets’. The starship accepted his word but it was clear from his tone that he was somewhat skeptical.

  As each ‘blanket’ fell from the trees it curled into a cylinder, pointing to the next. The trail that was formed was easy to follow. Rei didn’t even bother to use his sonar vision at first as the ‘blankets’ appeared to know exactly what they were doing. As Rei and Rome went through deeper and denser portions of the forest, the canopy of vegetation overhead was so thick, it made it dark, like night. Rome was able to use her infrared vision to walk while Rei was forced to use his sonar vision to navigate his way among the trees.

  At one point, they came to one of the little creeks they noted from the air. The blanket trail stopped there. Rome stooped down and touched the blanket closest to the water.

  “They do not like to cross the water unless they have to,” Rome said.

  “So what do we do?”

  “We wait,” Rome replied. “More will come.” She turned and looked across the stream and saw a series of blankets wriggling out of the woods. “There,” Rome said. “They are on their way.”

  Rei watched as another group of blankets lined up to form a path that led into the woods on the other side of the creek.

  “
OK,” Rei said. “We cross but I need a drink first.”

  Tomorrow, part 2 so you can see how I used the EcoSphere as my inspiration for the ecosystem of Deucado.

  Entry 5-275: October 2, 2017

  My EcoSphere, part 2 of 2

  Yesterday, I introduced you to a fascinating showpiece called the EcoSphere which is a complete, working ecosystem holding some shrimp and algae and all it needs is light to run. I worked it into Rome’s Evolution as part of the explanation as to why there was so little variety in the lifeforms there. Here is the second part:

  Rei stooped down to where the water lapped up against the bank and scooped up a handful of water into his mouth. Rome did the same. Rei leaned back on his haunches then extended backwards so that he was lying on his back. He looked up at the canopy above them. Nothing on this planet was as it seemed. Rome decided to lie down as well and snuggled up next to him.

  “Look,” she said, pointing to the tree tops. The trees here were of the bushier kind that Rome had discovered lining the Great Southern Bay. “The bushier cane-trees must need more water. They are aligned here along this creek. I had noticed that the ones MINIMCOM transplanted to my campus were not thriving as well. That must be why. I’ll tell him to make sure they get more water when we get back.”