Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five

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Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five Page 48

by Michael Brachman


  Rome hissed her disgust. “You said there were two types of Onsiras. What is the other type?”

  “They are called the Zengei. They are the ones with flat black eyes. You have met several of them. They do not appear to even have a mind of their own.”

  “Yes, I have seen them,” Rome said. “Go on.”

  “I did not know that MASAL was still alive and his century-long plan to convert mankind was beginning to gain traction. But I was concerned about the direction the recessive elements of the chromosome he designed might take the human race. I wanted to counteract it. So I had my scientists initiate a study of genetic overlap of the Vuduri to map backwards to a common ancestor. We were able to trace back to the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn that were among my communicants.”

  Descendants of Jack Henry? Where do you think this little tidbit will lead?

  Entry 5-301: October 28, 2017

  The Overmind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 3 of 4

  Yesterday, the Overmind of Earth began its recounting the secret history of the Vuduri to Rome. The first hint that this secret existed occurred before Rome was even born. There were two phenotypes: the Reohne like Sussen and Estar and the Zengei, the flat black-eyed human robots. How it could keep this secret from the "regular" Vuduri isn't clear but when Rome finds out her true lineage, it is going to floor her:

  The Overmind continued,“I had my scientists initiate a study of genetic overlap of the Vuduri to map backwards to a common ancestor. We were able to trace back to the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn that were among my communicants.”

  “Really?” Rome said with some shock.

  “It was not widely known, I have suppressed most of this information, but prior to the Battle of Chee Ka Go, Hanry Ta Jihn had a companion whose name was Lacy. She was more than, I think your term would be a girlfriend, but they were not Cesa. She was pregnant with his child when Hanry Ta Jihn decided to go on the raid west. While he did not survive, Lacy did and she gave birth and we have been able to identify the Vuduri alive today that are Hanry Ta Jihn’s direct descendents.”

  How the Overmind accomplished such an invasive investigation of all living Vuduri was beyond Rome’s imagination but she decided to say nothing.

  “From this stock of the 200 best candidates, I began a breeding program, you would call it the Slayer program, to build a group of Vuduri which would represent the greatest antidote to the genetic trend of the Onsiras. I paired each of the 200 closest descendents to Hanry Ta Jihn with the most intelligent among the 23-chromosome mandasurte I could find.”

  Suddenly, what her father had revealed to Rome aboard his boat several years earlier clicked. She whispered, “And my parents were among the pairs selected?”

  “Yes. You are a direct descendent of Hanry Ta Jihn.”

  Rome’s jaw dropped. Now it all made sense: the connection she felt when she was down in the bowels of the Tevatron. The pool of Hanry Ta Jihn’s blood. His handgun and her instinctual knowledge of how to use it.

  After she recovered, Rome asked, “I believe you but what would this program produce? Why cross-breed Vuduri and mandasurte. Even the grandchildren of Hanry Ta Jihn?”

  “Because these Slayers, children like you, could never develop or give birth to an Onsira. I wanted to see if they could put an end to that branch of humanity. I also postulated to myself that based upon their dedication to their agenda, they would eventually come after you and have you put down to further their goals.”

  “Put down? As in killed? So I was born just to be bait?” Rome asked angrily.

  “Partially. And to that extent, my program was a smashing success. I did not know MASAL was still alive. I only knew that the number of Onsira phenotypes was increasing. I suspected they were somehow organized in a way I could not detect. If this was the case and you truly represented a threat, they would be monitoring you. If they decided to hunt you down, then their intentions would have become clear. However, never did I consider that you would literally become the Slayer of MASAL. For that, the Vuduri could never thank you enough.”

  Holy Moly! Rome is the great, great, great grandchild of Jack Henry? This is too much. And she was born to be the Slayer of MASAL by dying? Well, she proved the program was named correctly. Now that we have the shockers out of the way, it is time for Rome to enlist the Overmind's aid.

  Entry 5-302: October 29, 2017

  The Overmind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 4 of 4

  Yesterday, the Overmind truly blew Rome's mind by telling her that she was the direct descendant of Jack Henry. Further, the Overmind told Rome about Lacy Henry, Jack's partner, if not wife. You can a short story about Lacy in The Vuduri Companion. However, Rome,recovered enough from the initial shock to push for the Overmind's direct help. Here is how that went:

  “If you were so grateful, why did you allow me to be banished from the planet?” Rome asked.

  “Because of your unique capabilities and your independent thinking. You and your husband represented a danger to my integrity. Your so-called Revolution has swept over the Earth despite my best efforts to suppress it.”

  “The Overmind on Deucado does not find it a problem. We have all found a way to live together.”

  “Yes. And that is why I pardoned you. Your epic services to the Vuduri are more profound than even Hanry Ta Jihn, although you would expect nothing less from his great-great granddaughter.”

  “I still do not see how this is going to help me find my son.”

  “Some time after you destroyed MASAL and left the Earth, Sussen returned, completely drained due to the journey from Deucado. She arrived to find MASAL’s base in Havei gone. She traveled on to another colony. Her connection to me was active but for a time, she did not appear to notice so I was able to listen in. She came before a Reonhe whose name was Reema. They call her Ombare so I must assume she has a leadership role.”

  “Please!” Rome shouted mentally, exasperated. “Just tell me what I need to know.”

  “I was getting to that. As Ursay was being captured, I heard him say two things. The first was Reema’s name and the second thing he said was Socal.

  “Socal? On the western continent?” Rome interjected. “I did not think anyone lived there.”

  “From the context, that is where I assume Reema lives. Find her and I believe you will find your son.”

  Rome leaped to her feet. “Then that is where we will go,” she said.

  “What?” Rei asked. “Did you contact him? The Overmind?”

  Rome nodded.

  “So what did he say?”

  Rome filled Rei in on a synopsis of the Overmind’s machinations. It took all of Rei’s willpower to bite his tongue during her recounting the story.

  “Let’s get going then,” Rei said finally. “We have a family to rescue.”

  “Yes,” said Rome. She contacted the Overmind one last time. “Thank you,” she communicated silently. “We have to get going now.”

  “I can send an army along,” the Overmind said. “Now that they have proven themselves to be an ongoing threat, it is time to extinguish the whole sub-species.”

  “No!” Rome insisted. “They have my baby. Let us go there and see if we can extract him first. If I need you, I will call.”

  “I will respect your wishes,” the Overmind said, “However; I will have my troops on alert for your call.”

  Socal. Southern California. It's time to head back to North America and find out who or what is hiding out there and find their son.

  Entry 5-303: October 30, 2017

  An Extraterrestrial Visitor

  Meteors hit the Earth all the time, occasionally with disastrous results (see the end of the dinosaurs) and occasionally we see comets in the heavens. We also see the stars above and wonder what they might be like. Further, there is the Kepler Mission which has currently found over 5000 exoplanet candidates circling other stars. The point is these events never co-mingle. We look up, we see stars, we see comets, we see meteor showers, b
ut we never see comets or meteors in other star systems. All the flying things that pass across our line of view originate in the Kuiper Belt or from even farther out in the Oort Cloud.

  However, once in a while, that whole paradigm is turned upside down. Recently, an object has entered the Solar System that scientists believe is from beyond our little place in the heavens. At first thought to be a comet, scientists now believe it is an asteroid whose trajectory indicates it came from outside our solar system, circled around the Sun and is heading back out to the way beyond, never to be seen again.

  The object itself is called A/2017 U1 and was first discovered on October 19, 2017 by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on the Haleakala crater on the island of Maui.

  Scientists have long believed such objects must exist but have never had an opportunity to observe one close up. This particular visitor will no longer be visible after the next few weeks and after that, it will leave the Solar System for good. Oh well, it's nice to see that it wanted to stop by and it is encouraging to know that even though it takes a long time, things can travel from another star.

  Image courtesy of Nasa and the University of Hawaii. Click on the image for a much larger and detailed view:

  Entry 5-304: October 31, 2017

  The Rescue Trip Gets Underway

  Two days ago, we saw the Overmind inform Rome that the raiders, assumed to be the Onsiras, may have take Aason to a place called Socal, southern California, along with Commander Ursay and Rome's parents. Obviously, the group wanted to get underway but first they had to see if the recently-rebuilt Junior was up to making the trip:

  Rei, Rome and Bonnie stood in the field behind the farmhouse. MINIMCOM’s livetar had his hand on his son’s shoulder and bent down so his eye slits were on the same level as Junior’s eye-holes.

  “Can you fly?” MINIMCOM asked the little gray livetar.

  “I think so,” Junior replied. “Let me try.” The livetar dissolved and the air swirled as the little spaceship activated his EG lifters and slowly rose up into the sky. He pointed his nose upward and began accelerating. When he was just a tiny dot, he fired his plasma thrusters and disappeared into the afternoon sky. But as quickly as he was gone, he returned and gently landed just beyond where his father’s starship stood.

  “I think I am OK,” the younger starship broadcast so that all could hear.

  “Junior, does your stealth shield still work?” Rei asked him mentally. “We’re going to have to sneak up on them if we’re to have a chance.”

  The starship shimmered then disappeared. After a few seconds he reappeared.

  “It is working,” Junior replied proudly.

  “Great,” Rei said out loud. He turned to the assembled party. “Let’s get going.” The humans and livetar all ran aboard MINIMCOM and took their positions. When they were ready, together, father and son lifted off and headed west, gaining altitude until they were about 10 miles up. Once they were over the Atlantic, they started accelerating, slowly at first but eventually reaching Mach 6. There was no need to worry about the authorities on Earth discovering their existence. Rome had seen to that. The only group they had to worry about was the Onsiras.

  At Mach 6, it took them just under an hour to cross the Atlantic and come upon the landmass that had been called North America. As they raced across the continental United States, Rei watched the ventral cameras along with the instrumentation.

  “There’s the Tevatron,” he said to Rome as they passed over Lake Michigan. He tapped the main display. Bonnie came forward to look over his shoulder.

  “That’s where Keller caught you, right?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Rei said. “The whole thing was stupid. The one thing he wanted was gone, burned up in the Sun.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell him?” Bonnie asked.

  “We did,” Rei said. “Rome told him exactly what happened.”

  “Let me guess, he didn’t believe you?”

  “Nope. People always accuse you of what they are thinking. If he had spent any time with the Vuduri, he would have known they had no clue how to lie. But his own duplicity blinded him.”

  Bonnie looked over at Rome who was staring out of the cockpit windshield intently. “She’s more than just a Vuduri, now, you know.”

  Since Rome and Rei had been pardoned, they didn't have to fly "under the radar" so to speak but when they get close, they'll want to avoid detection.

  Entry 5-305: November 1, 2017

  Gunpowder

  Yesterday, we saw the Rome, Rei and Bonnie get underway flying from what had been known as Portugal toward Socal, southern California. MINIMCOM carried the humans but Junior followed along.

  They flew over Lake Michigan which prompted Rei to show Bonnie where they had their encounter with Commander Ursay vying for the Darwin Virus Strain 5. The conversation then took a strange turn:

  Bonnie looked over at Rome who was staring out of the cockpit windshield intently. “She’s more than just a Vuduri, now, you know.”

  “Yeah,” Rei answered. “But her heart is the purest I’ve ever seen.”

  Bonnie sighed. “I thought…because of their, I don’t know, naivety, they were somehow lesser. But maybe it makes them better than us.”

  Rei looked up into Bonnie’s eyes. “Nobody’s better. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Together, we’re stronger.”

  “I see that now,” Bonnie said. “There’s so much I regret about how we approached things.”

  “It is what it is,” Rei said, turning forward. “But right now, we have to find my son. And Rome’s parents.”

  “How are you going to rescue them?” Bonnie asked.

  “Well, given how many of them there must be, I don’t think guns a’blazin is the…” Rei snapped his fingers. “Hey MINIMCOM,” he asked. “Steele had Jack Henry’s Beretta. What did you do with it?”

  “It is in my side airlock,” MINIMCOM replied. “If you need it, you will find another ammunition clip next to it.”

  “Where’d you get that?” Rei asked.

  “When I was cleaning and restoring it, I synthesized a new one and proceeded to learn the secret of the projectiles.”

  “What secret? Lead bullet, steel shell and gunpowder.”

  “Gunpowder as you call it is not simply the sum of its parts. The chemical composition is just potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal but when I first synthesized it, it would not explode. I believe your word is it fizzled.”

  “How come?” Rei asked.

  “As it turns out, gunpowder is not just a matter of chemistry but also physics.”

  “I know I’m going to regret asking but what do you mean?”

  “Gunpowder should be simple to make by just mixing the three chemicals together in the right ratio. As it turns out, the carbon must be in the form of charcoal because it has pores. The potassium nitrate and sulfur must fill those pores. The substrate is responsible for the explosive reaction, not just the mixture.”

  “If you say so,” Rei answered exhaustedly. “I believe you.”

  Rome, who had not been paying any attention to the discussion, was watching the distance meter rapidly decrease as they approached their destination of Southern California, called Socal by the Vuduri.

  We get a free physics lesson MINIMCOM but that doesn't distract Rome from their mission. The place where they are presumably holding her son is coming up.

  Entry 5-306: November 2, 2017

  They find Aason!

  Yesterday, on their way to Socal, southern California, MINIMCOM schooled Rei and Bonnie on how he rediscovered the secret of making gunpowder. This allowed MINIMCOM to synthesize new bullets and magazine for Jack Henry's M9 Beretta. Rei was happy about this.

  Meanwhile, Rome was preoccupied by studying their course and distance. Now they were getting close to their goal, the rescue of their son, Aason:

  Rome, who had been watching the distance meter asked, “MINIIMCOM, what is the effective distance of our EM transm
itters?”

  “Roughly 300 kilometers air-to-ground,” replied MINIMCOM.

  “Then slow down when we are inside that limit. I want to call to Aason using that channel. There is no way that the Onsiras would know that he can communicate that way. They may have him under T-suppression but it would never occur for them to put him in a Faraday cage.”

  “They knew enough to do that to you,” Rei said. “When we first came back to Earth and they had you arrested, they slapped you in a room that was cut off six ways to Sunday.”

  “They did not know I could communicate that way,” Rome said. “They just wanted to keep out all communication regardless.”

  “So what makes you think the Onsiras wouldn’t do the same thing?”

  “Because Aason has no equipment visible nor would he have access to any.”

  As the two ship convoy continued southwest, it only took them a half-hour to approach the 300 kilometer limit, MINIMCOM slowed down and Junior followed his lead. When they were about 250 kilometers away, MINIMCOM came to a dead stop, hovering about a mile up. Junior hovered off to his right.

  “Rei,” Rome said, reaching out with her hand. “You call with me. It will double our chances of reaching him.”

 

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