Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three

by Michael Brachman

  “Woo hoo!” Rei said, giddy for reasons he really didn’t understand. “There’s the Moon, too!” he said, pointing. “You don’t know how weird this is, honey.”

  “Why?” Rome asked.

  “Because when I left, I never thought I was ever coming back. It just wasn’t in the cards.”

  “Many parts of our lives are strange and inexplicable,” Rome said. “You seem to have developed the ability to take things, in stride, I believe you would say.”

  “Yeah,” Rei said. The smile slowly left his face.

  “What?” Rome asked. “This should make you happy. You get to see the Earth again.”

  “Your Earth, not mine,” Rei said. “All my family…”

  “Do not become morose,” Rome said kindly. “We have a job to do. Let us do it.”

  “Right.” Rei squeezed the button for the plasma thrusters down hard and they were pushed back in their seats as the spaceship accelerated toward their home planet.

  Tomorrow, a whole plot section opens up because Rome thought it was funny.

  Entry 3-291: October 13, 2015

 

  Funny stuff

  While I knew the general plot of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, I left many of the specifics up to the characters themselves. And I must tell you they never let me down. The original premise of the whole Rome's Revolution series was "what if we went to the stars and when we arrive, there were already people there?" So when I got to the part of bringing Rome and Rei back to Earth, Rome suggested to me that it would be funny if, immediately upon arrival, they were arrested.

  What was her crime? Why, unleashing OMCOM, of course. It was a fundamental tenet of Vuduri society that no computer was ever, ever to be allowed to have contact with a Casimir pump. This edict dated back to MASAL and the Robot War. The Overmind and the Vuduri determined that was the only way to completely prevent such a occurrence.

  Once I had the idea that it would be funny if they were arrested upon arrival, a whole giant hunk of the story laid itself out before me. It opened up the concept of Vuduri justice. If everybody was mind-connected, how would anybody ever be able to commit a crime? If there was unlimited, free energy and anyone could have anything they ever wanted, why would there be stealing? When you think of it that way, the whole idea of a court system didn't seem to make much sense. But I had to invent one so that we got to meet the Judge, Oronus, who conducted Rome's trial.

  It also gave me a great way to show how to isolate a Vuduri using a T-suppression room which was also a Faraday cage. It also gave me a great way to introduce Binoda, Rome's mother, so she could play her pivotal role in resolving the essential conflict.

  So, thanks Rome for the funny idea. It made for some great moments.

  Entry 3-292: October 14, 2015

 

  The new USA

  In the original incarnation of Rome's Revolution, back when it was called VIRUS 5, I had included a lot of editorial ranting about global warming and the Rules of Green. As I have mentioned before, I had to dump all of that stuff because it had nothing to do with the plot and I had to strip down 360,000 words down to 160,000 or so.

  This little vignette got lost on the editing room floor. It was Rei's observation of the Earth 14 centuries from now. The assumption was that both polar ice caps were melted:

  Time passed very quickly and it wasn’t long until the blue jewel was the brightest object in the sky. Their progress was palpable and mesmerizing. Rei punched up a magnified view of their target and stared at the globe in front of him. Something about it did not look right.

  “What happened to the North Pole?” he asked, pointing to the screen.

  “Both polar ice caps melted a long time ago,” Rome answered. “There is some ice at the South Pole but the North Pole is just now starting to refreeze.”

  “So it really happened, huh?” Rei asked. “Everyone was afraid of that.”

  “Yes, it really happened,” Rome replied. “Your people left the Earth a very damaged planet.”

  Rei did not answer her. He felt guilty even though he was just one man. It was his generation and their predecessors that were responsible. There was nothing much he could do about it now.

  The plasma thrusters fired the entire time drawing them inexorably nearer to the planet. Their approach took less than an hour. The unseen pilot cut back on the thrusters and the trim-jets executed a roll and yaw maneuver that altered their course so that they entered orbit going east to west midway over the Northern Hemisphere.

  “What happened to Florida?” Rei asked. And New Jersey? And New Orleans” he said. Rei touched the images in front of him as if they were real.

  Rome replied, “You already know the answer. Because both poles melted, what you would call sea level is 70 meters higher than when you left. So all of the low lying areas, the ones you are referring to, are currently under water.”

  As they approached the western edge of North America, Rei touched the screen again. “San Francisco Bay, it’s huge,” he said. “And LA is gone. Wow.”

  Here is one image of what someone thinks the US might look like. Nobody really knows. What say we don't find out?

  Entry 3-293: October 15, 2015

 

  I-cimaci up close

  A long time ago, I told you that the capital of Earth was called I-cimaci which means The First in Vuduri. I-cimaci lie in the area previously occupied by Lisbon. Portugal was the presumed birthplace of a resurrected mankind and the original home of the Vuduri as recounted in the early part of Rome's Revolution. So when Rome and Rei were being taken into custody, naturally, there is where they went:

  As they got lower, Rei recognized the distinctive shape of the Iberian Peninsula and Spain, bordered by the Mediterranean on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. It looked largely unchanged. Passing even lower, they flew over the straits of Gibraltar then up along the coast, past where Cadiz and Seville had been located. The Atlantic Ocean stretched off to the left as far as the eye could see. Where the coastline jutted out into the ocean, they cut inland heading due north. At one point, without remembering his geography perfectly, Rei guessed they were now over what had been Portugal.

  Lower and lower they flew. Ahead of them, Rei could make out ring-like structures, interrupted by crossing lines. He remembered the pictures of I Cimaci when he was on Skyler Base. The city was built like a bull’s-eye with eight major roads crisscrossing the center. As they got closer, he could see block-like buildings lying in the spaces between the roads. Off in the distance, he could see a single, giant shining structure.

  Rome was watching the display on MIDAR. She pointed to one section. “It is definitely I Cimaci. That is The Tower. It is the tallest one on Earth.”

  Rei recognized it immediately. The immense spire was the only structure of all the Vuduri architecture that was of any note. Rei thought back to his time on Skyler Base, when he had first seen pictures of this future Earth. That seemed like so long in the past. Then it struck him. The habitat on Dara was built along the exact same plan as their major cities complete with crossing roads and circles. Clearly the Vuduri had absolutely no imagination when it came to urban planning or habitat design.

  “That is the Rio Tejo,” Rome said, pointing the bay to the right of the city. “The spaceport is near the water just past the edge of the city. There.”

  Below them were hundreds of air and spacecraft lined up in neat rows alongside what were obviously terminal buildings. They looped around to a wide, flat area on the far side of the building. Finally, their forward velocity came to a halt about 20 meters above the ground. The indicators on the front panel showed their landing gear was being extended. Their tug began descending straight down.

  Guns, ramps, you know the drill. Time to get arrested!

  Entry 3-294: October 16, 2015

 

  Some hero, 1

  When I originally wrote the long-form version of Rome's Revolution called VIRUS 5, the story was supposed to be tol
d from Rei Bierak's point of view. We only understood what he understood. We only saw what he saw. But as I as writing it, the novel evolved and became more about Rome as seen from Rei's eyes thus the change in the title.

  While Rei was never ordinary, he didn't feel he was extraordinary and many of the opportunities to "do the right thing" came along and it required Rome and Rei's teamwork to solve the problems. Rei would claim he could never have done what he had done without her. So it came as a bit of a shock when he found out that the Vuduri admired and appreciated what he had done while condemning Rome for the very same actions. Here is an example:

  Rei left her there and made his way over to the inside door of the airlock. He pressed the stud to open it and waited there for Rome. When she got to the doorway, he stepped to the side to let her go first. Here on Earth, there was no need to wait for the inner door to close. Rome opened the outer door immediately and stepped through. Together, hands against the walls, they made their way down the hallway.

  “There’s a whole boatload of déjà vu going on here, isn’t there?” Rei asked.

  “Déjà vu?” Rome replied as they made their way to the far end of the cargo compartment.

  “Yeah, been there, done that,” Rei said.

  “I suppose,” Rome replied. “But our landing was a bit more controlled this time as compared to last time. Our descent to Deucado was rather rough.”

  “Yep,” Rei answered. He pushed the blue stud to raise the cargo door and lower the ramp. The last time they had done this, a solid block of ice had formed around the body of the tug preventing them from extending the landing gear. They had to land with the belly of the tug resting on the ground. This time, the ramp extended fully as the cargo hatch raised. Compared to the dim light of the ship during their travel, the bright sunlight their home star provided flooded their cargo compartment. So much so that Rei had to hold his arm up to shield his eyes. Of course, with Rome’s advanced optics, she had no such problem.

  Rei just shut his eyes, figuring it was easier to let his eyes adjust that way. Rome reached up and tugged his arm.

  “Rei,” she said.

  “Yeah, I’ll be OK. I just need a minute to let my eyes adjust.”

  “REI!” Rome said, insistently.

  “What?”

  Even though his eyes were blurry from the brightness, Rei blinked a few times until his vision cleared.

  They're both in trouble, right? Wrong. Only Rome. Why? Because it makes for a better story. But the dichotomy between how they are treated will be better explained tomorrow in part 2.

  Entry 3-295: October 17, 2015

 

  Some hero, 2

  Yesterday, I started in on what happened when Rome and Rei first landed on Earth at the beginning of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution. Guns and ramps. Ramps and guns! Anyway, whenever Rei's eyes are blurry, when they clear up, something unpleasant is always waiting for him.

  Here is part 2 of that little vignette:

  “Yeah, I’ll be OK. I just need a minute to let my eyes adjust.”

  “REI!” Rome said, insistently.

  “What?”

  Even though his eyes were blurry from the brightness, Rei blinked a few times until his vision cleared.

  There standing at the base of the ramp was an angry looking phalanx of soldiers holding sleek rifles, pistols, mini-PPT throwers, electrostatic disrupters plus a variety of other harsh-looking weapons that Rei did not recognize. In summary, they were pointing pretty much every weapon ever conceived of by the Vuduri at the space-faring couple.

  “Does this remind you of anything?” Rei asked Rome slowly raising his hands above his head.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” she replied, doing the same.

  When they got to the base of the ramp, one of the soldiers walked up to them and spoke haltingly in Vuduri, “Rome, you are under arrest.”

  Rome nodded once and lowered her arms. Two armed guards moved around past the first soldier’s side and took Rome by the arms.

  “For what?” Rei asked. “What did she do?”

  The soldier looked at Rei. He cleared his throat several times but clearly speaking was not one of his strong points. “She facilitated an OMCOM to become Tasancetaeti.”

  “Tasancetaeti?” Rei asked and then his heart sank. “Oh. Yeah.”

  Firmly, they pulled at Rome and began moving her away from the bottom of the tug’s ramp toward a transport parked about 10 meters away. Rei started to walk with them but the first soldier blocked his path.

  “I’m going with her,” Rei said in English. “She is my w…” Rei stopped for a second, “Monhe nemirete,” he corrected himself. “I need to go with her.”

  “You are not under arrest,” the soldier said in a gravely voice. “You are free to go where you please.”

  “Well, I please to go with her,” Rei said.

  “Very well,” replied the soldier. “You are Rei Bierak, the hero of Tabit. You have earned the right.”

  “Some hero,” Rei said under his breath, starting forward alongside the soldier.

  Notice how Rei almost screwed up their story within the first two minutes? Luckily, nobody noticed. However, Rome's arrest seems sort of inconsistent, doesn't it? Rome and Rei, together, performed an act which saved the Earth and she gets arrested while he gets a pat on the back. Never fear, she'll wriggle out of it somehow.

  Entry 3-296: October 18, 2015

 

  KIC 8462852 - A real Stareater?

  The news of star KIC 8462852 has been kicking up a media storm recently. You can click here to read the original paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. What is so fascinating about this star whose characteristics have been extracted from the huge data stores retrieved from the Kepler Mission?

  Several sources have analyzed the light patterns, concluding they "suggest there is a big mess of matter circling the star, in tight formation." Others have gone out farther on the limb by stating “it looked like the kind of thing you might expect an alien civilization to build.”

  So is this an attempt by an alien civilization to contact us? Is it the shell of a Dyson Sphere under construction? Or is it just a huge comet swarm that happened to get captured by the star?

  Obviously, nobody knows. It is interesting enough to be sure that professional or amateur scientists will keep researching it and making models until somebody finds something remotely plausible to explain the findings. Alien mega-structure? A super-power station? A Stareater?

  If it is a solar panel array, kind of like Larry Niven's Ringworld, except for power production instead of living space, is it really practical? Is it just a cosmic Morse code transmitter meant to tell us "we are here?"

  Stay tuned. Exciting times!

  Entry 3-297: October 19, 2015

 

  The Kardashev Scale

  Yesterday's article about a possible alien mega-structure orbiting about the star KIC 8462852 raises the question how do you compare one such civilization against another? One such scale is The Kardashev Scale which grades a civilization by how much energy they can utilize.

  Type 1 civilizations grade out by utilizing the resources of a planet. They are allowed to travel in space but are limited to their own solar system. Type 2 civilizations are categorized as utilizing all the energy of a sun and may have even colonized nearby solar systems. Type 3 civilizations utilize energy on a galactic scale, such as harnessing black holes, white holes and other exotic matter and are capable of colonizing their galaxy.

  Some have proposed extensions beyond the simple three categories but if they exist, such civilizations would be beyond our ability to detect them so who cares if they exist?

  Clearly, modern man is on the verge of becoming a Type 1 civilization. If the scale had decimal precision, we'd be about .95 because within 100 years, we will have colonized nearby planets and we will have 100% sustainable energy accumulation.

  In the Rome's Revolution universe, clearly the Vuduri are a Typ
e 2 civilization. They have harnessed unlimited, free energy by exploiting the Casimir Effect and have colonized other solar systems. At the end of The Milk Run, the Vuduri now have the Null Fold X-drive and can begin exploring the Milky Way meaning they could become a Type 3 civilization one day. And let's not forget Aason's encounter with a Kardashev Type 4 civilization, otherwise known as The Gods.

  Here is one artist's idea of what might be orbiting KIC 8462852. This is a really cool image of a Dyson-class structure by mozggies posted on the web site DeviantArt.com:

  Entry 3-298: October 20, 2015

 

  Prison life

  As a writer, I am all about the story. I like action and I like science. Details like what the characters are wearing, what's the weather, stuff like that, doesn't interest me all that much. But I've been told (cough, cough, Bruce) that readers need a little bit of information to form a picture of the action in their mind.

  So begrudgingly, within Rome's Revolution, I give some descriptions. However, in my own passive-aggressive way, I purposely make things dull. I dress all the Vuduri in their ubiquitous white jumpsuits. I make all their vehicles very simple and when it comes to designing the living quarters, whether it is on Dara or on Earth, I keep them utterly basic.

  Check out this little paragraph as Rome and Rei are headed toward Rome's interrogation. You'll see that life on Earth, in the 35th century, wouldn't be all that interesting to us:

  The transport was little more than a flying cart with three rows of seats. Two soldiers sat in the front. Rei sat next to Rome in the middle row and a soldier sat on either side of them. The rear row was empty. They left the airfield and headed northeast, toward I Cimaci and the giant, looming tower that the Vuduri, with their infinite creativity, simply called The Tower. Rei craned his neck to gawk at the city ahead. As they passed the outskirts of the city, they passed row after row of one-story, long block-like structures. Rei knew he had seen them before.