“What is that?” Rome replied.
“When I first met you, you had longer hair, even longer than you do now.”
“Yes,” Rome replied, running her hands along the sides of her hair which was just over shoulder length now. She had cut it several centimeters after Aason was born.
“Well, all the other Vuduri I ever met, men and women both, they all keep their hair really short,” Rei said. “Why did you have long hair? When you were with the Overmind, I mean.”
Rome gathered up the ends of her hair and squeezed them together in a clump. Then she shook her head and it spread out evenly, across the top of her shoulders.
“It was how my mother wore her hair. It was how she raised me. I never felt the need to change it. Just as Vuduri are not slaves to fashion, there was not any compelling need for me to change my hairstyle to match my peers. Perhaps it was my way of protesting certain mistreatments, I cannot say for sure.”
“We call that passive aggression,” Rei offered.
Well, maybe it wasn't so odd after all, at least for the 35th century.
Entry 3-260: September 12, 2015
Vuduri sports
When we first met Rome in the beginning of Rome's Revolution, she seemed very much like the rest of the Vuduri. Colorless, humorless, just a worker bee kind of person. How far she has come! However, as it turns out, there are certain basic human urges, like the need to compete, that come out no matter what the rest of society seems to think. The Vuduri were the same. They had competition. They just called it something else:
“That is certain,” Rome said. “Anyway, when I was growing up, while mentally I was similar to all Vuduri, I had certain physical skills, eye-hand coordination perhaps, that allowed me to excel at some exercises over my peers. This trait, I suspect, was because I had the ability to not sit there and wait for the Overmind to do my thinking for me. I suppose you would not call them exercises, I think you might call them games.”
“Yes, I remember that,” Rei said.
“Well, Vuduri do not play games for the same reason that you and I do now, they do it to winnow out, to distill certain people so that they can be assigned to the right jobs when they reach functional age. So, in the particular, let us call it sport, that I was truly exceptional at performing, there was a point in time when I should have been promoted to a smaller, more elite team to continue competition at the higher levels.”
“Vuduri competing,” Rei said in amazement. “It seems out of character.”
“Well, if you think of it as a continuous skills assessment,” Rome said, “it makes more sense. It really is not competition for the goal of winning as such.”
“OK, go on,” Rei said.
“Now that I have had a chance to go back and review, I realize that I was held back, suppressed,” Rome said with a bit of an edge to her voice. “It was unspoken and unacknowledged, but I know now that it was because my father was mandasurte.”
“Yeah, Vuduri trash,” Rei said.
Rome frowned.
“No, no, no,” Rei said. “I don’t think that at all, Romey. I’m just saying that was what your so-called buddies thought.”
Rome nodded. “We have a word,” she said. “It is not very nice. The word is mosdurece which means half-breed or mixed blood. It makes no sense because Vuduri are Vuduri.”
“Prejudice is timeless, I guess,” Rei observed. “So they held it against you?”
“Yes,” Rome replied. “You see there were many elements of the game that were specifically non-contact yet became so. Never to the point of injury, but still…” Rome paused for a moment. “It was disturbing but I did not allow myself the opportunity to consider it. I was relegated to the lower levels and while I was always the best at it, I can now see that my pride was hurt. I just did not know it. I really should have been promoted.” Her face tensed into a frown. “There must have been some realization of this because I was channeled into the school for physical training regarding data retrieval.”
Who knew the Vuduri even had it in them?
Entry 3-261: September 13, 2015
Rome was handpicked, pt. 1
In the beginning of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, Rome was relating to Rei how she ended up on the mission to Tabit. Rome knew that she was really, really good at her job but she was passed over for many important positions because of the unspoken prejudice pure-bred Vuduri held against the mosdurece (half-bloods). There were some among the Vuduri, however, that knew a good thing when they saw it.
This is the first half of the conversation:
“Yes,” Rome said. “I was at school for data manipulation. The basic principles are known by all Vuduri via the Overmind but I was given the opportunity to continue to develop my eye-hand coordination so that I could channel and refine data streams instantaneously. As I mentioned before, if I was a typical Vuduri and I were to relinquish all of my control to the Overmind, it would introduce an infinitesimal delay which would reduce my overall effectiveness. They used my brain and my hands to circumvent that tiny delay. And I must say, I got very good at it.”
“I’m sure you did,” Rei said.
“However, time and time again,” Rome explained, “positions were required, positions for advancement and I was passed over. The placements were handed to others who were not nearly as qualified as me. In retrospect, each time it happened, it made me angry but I did not acknowledge this. Not to myself.”
Rei nodded. “Go on.”
“One day,” Rome said, “a strange man came into the classroom. It was Commander Ursay. While I knew who he was, of course, I had never met him before. The moment he came into the room, he looked over each of the students but when he got to me, his eyes locked onto mine. It was only then that I knew he was there for me. For a Vuduri, this is a very strange thing. I should have already known why he was there.”
Tomorrow, I'll give you the second half of the conversation.
Entry 3-262: September 14, 2015
Rome was handpicked, pt. 2
Yesterday, I presented part of a conversation that took place in the beginning of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution. During that conversation, Rome was relating to Rei how she ended up on the mission to Tabit. She was really, really good at her job but she was passed over for many important positions because of the unspoken prejudice pure-bred Vuduri held against the mosdurece (half-bloods). There were some among the Vuduri, however, that knew a good thing when they saw it.
This is the second half of that conversation:
Rome continued, “Perhaps the samanda for the Overmind that was to travel to Tabit was in the process of being formed and so there was some kind of separation already in place. It was when I first set eyes upon Ursay that I realized this.”
“So…”
“So without any conscious thought, I stood up, gathered my things and followed him directly to the Algol which was being prepared for travel.”
“What about your mother? Your cat?” Rei asked.
“My mother would know what was happening to me as would all Vuduri. There was no need to actually do or say anything. At least that is what I thought at the time.”
“And Skodla?”
“Skodla was with my mother. She would take care of him. I knew this. Any pain I felt upon leaving him, I would have suppressed. A good Vuduri does not have regret. Or longing. I would not allow myself to miss him.”
“What about your clothes. Your belongings?” Rei asked.
“What few items that were important to me, like the bands, were already onboard the Algol. Clothes meant nothing. We had molecular synthesizers on board. Plus my body is so similar to other Vuduri women that most clothes are interchangeable, anyway.”
“I beg to differ,” Rei said.
“You are biased,” Rome said demurely but with a smile on her face. “Your opinion does not count.”
So off she went and the rest is (future) history. By the way, we do
catch with Skodla one more time near the end of The Milk Run so don't skip over that book!
Entry 3-263: September 15, 2015
Unceremonious goodbyes
Now that I have completed recording the audiobook for The Milk Run, I went back and thought about why I brought back certain characters. Without spoiling the book, it includes Sussen, Reema and even MASAL. Was it just nostalgia? Was it just curiosity? I think it is a mix of those but also because I like my characters, even the evil ones, and don't really want them to see gone forever.
We had a few near misses. MINIMCOM crushed beneath the 7000 metric tonne Ark II. MINIMCOM was fatally infected with the Darwin virus Strain 5 and was going to fly into the Sun.
But we also had some real disappearances. For example, near the end of Rome's Revolution, we lost the Flying House. Whatever happened to it? I don't know. The last we saw of it was flying into the sunset in Havei (Hawaii). I did make reference to it several times in The Milk Run but we never really found out.
After Rome and Rei forged their treaty with HIRDINHARSAWAY, we thought we'd seen the end of that particular Stareater. However, in The Milk Run, you will get to meet his/her son named HIRDINDALAFANT who is instrumental in launching Starship OMCOM on his journey to Heaven. Aroline's father, Donald, after being rescued, is transported over to MINIMCOM and that is the last we hear of him. I guess we assume he makes his way home to Hades eventually.
Some of the baddies mentioned above, Sussen and Reema, you'll see them again in The Milk Run and even though we don't truly find out their fate, you will have enough information to guess.
The ones that really got dumped unceremoniously were MASAL and "the man in white" who was the self-proclaimed representative for Species Zero Prime. MASAL joined the big blob and that was the last we saw of him. The man in white was locked in a tornado versus Molokai and that was that.
The only one left who I did not mention was OMCOM. I saved him for last. All I can tell you is that you will definitively know his fate by the end of The Milk Run. If you haven't read it by now, you will be able to listen very soon thanks to Audible.com.
Entry 3-264: September 16, 2015
Stuck inside for three months, pt. 1
When the Vuduri crew left Earth aboard The Algol, they were looking at a three month journey. As the flagship of the Vuduri fleet, the Algol is very large. Here is an image of its layout:
So what the heck did the Vuduri do stuck inside a starship, even as nice of a one as the Algol, for three months?
You can see that a large portion of the ship is designated as living area. There were no sleeping quarters. The seating area in the front consisted of mesh-lined seats which reclined and served as beds when required. The living area itself was mainly divided into two areas.
The portion between the section labeled Living Area and the seating area was the commissary which held the food synthesizers and some table seating. The Living Area itself was really nothing more than a very well equipped gym. You will recall that the Vuduri didn't have much interest in anything else and certainly never got bored but they did prize physical fitness.
If they needed anything else, they could go way in the back to the storage area labeled Equipment. This room held the molecular sequencers, recycling apparatus and the refreshers. After all, even the Vuduri still needed to go to the bathroom occasionally.
So, in summary, what did they do? They slept, they ate, went to the bathroom and exercised. That's it. I don't think any of us would have enjoyed it very much. No Red Zone!
Entry 3-265: September 17, 2015
Stuck inside for three months, pt. 2
Yesterday, I gave you an overview of the three-month journey from Earth to Tabit when the Overmind finally decided that stars disappearing was important enough to investigate. Here is Rome's take on the journey during a conversation she had with Rei on their way back to Earth in Part 3 of Rome's Revolution:
Rome said, “We lifted off, achieved escape velocity and immediately began to slow down. You know our normal mode of travel…” Rome paused and looked around her cabin, remembering where she was and what they were doing. “Their normal mode of travel is to come to a complete halt, turn, open the PPT tunnel, turn again then push through using plasma thrusters. The Algol was so large that the plasma thrusters had to fire for a long time and there was not even much acceleration to give the trip any variety. Not that we wanted it. Back then.”
“I agree with you,” Rei noted. “If I hadn’t been with you on our trip to Deucado, I think all the stopping and starting would have driven me crazy. Even though MINIMCOM did most of the work, we still felt it. With you, I hardly noticed.”
“The Vuduri are the same way in that regard,” Rome said. “Nobody wanted it to be stimulating. We simply endured it.”
“So what’d you do the whole time?” Rei asked. “You said the trip took three months.”
“We exercised. We ate. I spent much time preparing, I think your word is formatting, datacubes. But mostly, we spent our time relinquishing our conscious minds to our smaller Overmind. Our samanda truly began its development during that trip. It evolved. To prepare us for the significantly reduced gravity on Dara, they suppressed the artificial gravity to match. To compensate, we had exercise much more than normal. That had the side benefit of introducing a slightly higher efficiency into the propulsion system.
“Knowing the Vuduri, that was probably the real story anyway,” Rei observed. “Were they really in that much of a hurry? I know keeping your bodies in shape is like the most important thing there is to a Vuduri.”
“Hurry is relative. Even if your observation were correct, it would be more like they just did not want to bother,” replied Rome. “Vuduri are all about efficiency. Anyway, because of the reduced gravity, the trip out there was bound to cause some physical degeneration but we ignored it. We used our minds in the noble pursuit of unity. I now know there was at least one who did not but at the time, no one paid attention.”
Rome was referring to Estar, of course. Estar got hers in the end. Even though she was killed, you will meet up with her one more time in the latter part of The Milk Run. Tomorrow, I'll remind you about one fact regarding Estar, slightly shocking, that might explain just a tiny bit about her seemingly aberrant behavior.
Entry 3-266: September 18, 2015
Estar and the Onsira phenotype
Yesterday, I showed you that Rome had, indeed, noted something strange about Estar's behavior, even during the three-month journey from Earth to Tabit. However, in a previous post, I proclaimed that Estar, the villain of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, wasn't so bad.
How do we reconcile Estar's seemingly petulant behavior with that position? She was serving an evil master, MASAL, of course but beneath the volcano of Kilauea, when Rome would not cooperate, she seemed to have a temper tantrum.
The answer might shock you. As revealed in The Milk Run, the Onsiras aged twice as fast as regular Vuduri and when we met Estar she was actually only 12 years old at the time. Not even a teenager. Rome noted this:
“We used our minds in the noble pursuit of unity. I now know there was at least one who did not but at the time, no one paid attention,” Rome proclaimed.
“Estar?” Rei asked.
“Yes, Estar,” Rome replied with some disgust. “I should have known. But we both know I was blind.”
“Even so, what would make her a suspect?” Rei asked.
“Because I was fully trained to be a data archivist. I was easily the best available. They needed a second archivist but Estar?” Rome made a huffing noise. “It would have been kind to have called her adequate.”
“Surely somebody noticed,” Rei said. “I mean, you guys are all about competency.”
“Everyone just assumed that somebody else knew the reason,” Rome said resignedly. “It would have been impolite to even question her selection. You have seen that for yourself. The Onsiras
flourish because they hide in the open. No one can bring themselves to admit they exist because to do so would be to admit there is a failing or flaw within the Overmind and the Overmind itself could never permit that.”
“Bunch of blinder-wearing narcissists, if you ask me,” Rei said.
So what was the reasoning behind this, making Onsiras age faster? You have to think back to MASAL's original plan which was to turn the human race into a bunch of living robots. He needed rapid turnover to accelerate our species toward the end game so making them grow up, reproduce then die faster seemed like a logical decision at the time. Of course, we find out in The Milk Run that MASAL eventually came to regret that decision.
Better late than never, I guess.
Entry 3-267: September 19, 2015
Rei proposes, pt. 1
You will recall that in the middle of Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, Rome was under duress because of her polyhydramnios caused by Aason's incessant pushing while searching for his mother. Rei came to the conclusion that the only way to save her was to fly her into "the lion's den" which was his name for the Vuduri compound. Only they would have the necessary medical equipment to intervene properly.
However, before they left, Rei acknowledged there was a real possibility that Rome was going to die so he got Tribunel to marry them (called Cesa in Vuduri) before they left. It was all rather rushed. They never had a proper engagement in Rei's mind. So during their eight-day trip back to Earth, he decided to right that wrong:
Rei snapped his fingers. “Hold on, baby, wait right here.”
“All right,” Rome said, confused, watching Rei as he rushed out of the room. He was only gone a few minutes. He came back with the biggest smile on his face and his hands behind his back.
Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three Page 35