Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three

by Michael Brachman

  Entry 3-321: November 12, 2015

 

  The Revolution marches on, 1

  Rome, the heroine of the Rome's Revolution novels is not very imposing physically. She is barely five feet tall. She is very smart for a Vuduri. But her most powerful weapon is how she wields her intellect. She has lived on both sides. She has been a mind-connected drone working for the Overmind and she has grown into an independent woman once she became mandasurte.

  As such, the Vuduri have a very hard time handling her. She knows how they think and she can out-think them because she also knows how to act autonomously. Just take this little interaction with Oronus, the judge who is going to pronounce her fate:

  “You appear to be rather proud of the fact that you were Cesdiud,” Oronus observed. “I would think you would be ashamed.”

  “I am not,” Rome said. “It has liberated me.”

  “This room is under continuous T-suppression,” said Oronus. “I am disconnected right now. I do not know about you but I find it extraordinarily uncomfortable.”

  “I do agree, when it first happened to me, I found it very disconcerting,” Rome replied. “But after a while, I got used to it and now I would not give it up for the world.”

  “Why” Oronus asked, confused. “Why would anybody want to live this way?”

  “Because,” Rome said, “it allows me to have my own thoughts and my own feelings. I do not have to share them with anyone.”

  “What about the Overmind?” Oronus asked.

  “Especially the Overmind,” Rome fired back. “It is the unrelenting inspection of one’s thoughts and feelings by the Overmind that make the Vuduri into unthinking automatons. We are too proud of a people to ever risk having an idea or an emotion that might be embarrassing so we suppress them all. This is not a good thing.”

  “I disagree. It is a very good thing.” countered Oronus. “Without it, all of society would get unruly, uncontrolled. Look at the mandasurte. Emotions only get in the way of efficiency.”

  “You cannot know this,” Rome said sympathetically, “but by giving up feelings, we have relinquished a part of our humanity, a part of our soul really. We are diminished as a species.”

  “I believe we are elevated,” said Oronus in a taunting voice.

  “I think you are wrong,” replied Rome.

  “I am not wrong,” insisted Oronus. “What evidence do you have?”

  “I will tell you but you will not believe me,” Rome said.

  “Please,” scoffed Oronus. “Try and convince me.”

  “Very well,” said Rome. “It is very simple. It takes the form of a question.”

  “What question is that?”

  “What is your purpose?” Rome asked.

  I guarantee you that no Vuduri has ever asked themselves that question. Therefore it should not come as a surprise when Oronus struggles to find an answer.

  More tomorrow.

  Entry 3-322: November 13, 2015

  The Revolution marches on, 2

  Yesterday, we saw how easy it was for Rome, the heroine of the Rome's Revolution to dismantle the arguments of even the most intelligent Vuduri. Today I will give you the second half of the conversation:

  “What is your purpose?” Rome asked.

  Oronus pulled his head back. “My purpose?” he repeated. “Do you mean my occupation?”

  “No,” Rome said, “your purpose in life.”

  “I, I have no purpose,” Oronus said. “I need none. I serve the Overmind, as do we all.”

  “Exactly,” said Rome. “You serve the Overmind. You are not a person. You are just a pawn. Your directives could be for the better or the worse and you would never challenge them.”

  “Why would I challenge them?” asked Oronus, bristling. “By definition, whatever the Overmind wills is correct.”

  “The Overmind should serve the Vuduri, not the other way around. I can give you so many examples where the Overmind has erred,” Rome said. “The Overmind is not infallible. It just thinks it is. However, I must agree: your original statement is correct. You have no real purpose. You are just a living machine serving the will of a power you do not understand.”

  “And you are any better?” Oronus said, his voice rising. “How can you have a purpose which is superior to serving the Overmind?”

  “Because I am me,” Rome said. “Because I am mandasurte, I have a purpose which has nothing to do with my occupation.”

  “So enlighten me,” Oronus said, tauntingly. “What is your purpose?”

  “To live. To love. To be with Rei. To feel…every day,” answered Rome proudly.

  “That is not a purpose,” Oronus said with disgust. “It is just a description of your current state. You betray your own argument. Your feelings get in the way. You cannot achieve anything with raw emotion dictating your actions.”

  “You do not know,” Rome retorted. “You cannot know. You have only lived one way. I have lived both: connected and Cesdiud. The way I am now is the way I wish to be.”

  “I will challenge your position by stating the exact same thing. The way I am now is the way I wish to be as well. I cannot imagine living any other way,” said Oronus.

  Rome said, “How would you know unless you tried?”

  Oronus shook his head. “This is not anything I will ever try. Therefore, we are at an impasse.”

  Rome sighed. “I know. You are wrong but I do understand your position. I was there once. It is safe to say we will never agree upon this,” Rome said. “Why not just get to your questions?”

  What Rome does not know is that one day, Oronus will try living the other style. In her own way, ultimately, Rome transforms the entire planet. But here and now, her interrogation continues and then the trial!

 

  Entry 3-323: November 14, 2015

  The Big Lie exposed. Going twice.

  In the middle of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, while Rei was being interrogated by Oronus, the Juoz (judge) asked him several questions including one which crossed into an area which Rome and Rei had never discussed. Just as Rei answered how he thought Rome might, Rome attempted to do the same and The Big Lie is exposed, again.

  “I do not know” Rome said. “For the first few weeks, everything was as expected then the projectors just started to wane. We were too far from MINIMCOM to ask for help and the nav-computer diagnostics could not really pinpoint a hardware issue. We did try but we were unable to get them back to optimal.”

  “Very well,” Oronus said. “You said you were pregnant. Where is your baby?” Oronus asked harshly.

  Rome looked down at the table. Now she was being tested. Tears welled up in her eyes. She started to speak but her voice caught. She put her hands up to her eyes and began sobbing.

  “Please compose yourself,” Oronus said dismissively. “It is a simple question.”

  Rome fought back the tears and in a barely audible voice, she said, “Aason died at birth. Rei said he was stillborn.”

  “Do you still have the body?” Oronus asked coldly. “Where is it?”

  “No,” Rome said, somewhat surprised at the question. She paused for a second. She thought furiously about Rei and his people and their customs. She knew what he would do so she continued. “Rei had what he called a funeral for him. He made the baby a ceoxei [the Vuduri word for coffin] and he set the body adrift in space.”

  Rome could no longer take it. She started crying again.

  This time, it was Oronus who seemed surprised. “Are you absolutely sure that is what happened?”

  “Yes, I am sure,” Rome said through her tears albeit a bit puzzled at the question.

  “That is a very strange thing to do. Did you think that was right?” Oronus asked. “To put the body in a ceoxei and put it into space?”

  “No,” Rome replied. “But Rei said it was the only way to honor his baby. I was so distraught. I did not fight him about it.”

  “I see,” Oronus said. He paused for a moment. “It would appear
that the Essessoni did many strange things.”

  Rome merely nodded. She sobbed softly, looking down at the floor.

  “Take a moment to compose yourself,” Oronus said, softening this time.

  Rome took a deep breath. She looked up at Oronus with a steely expression in her eyes. “I am all right,” she said.

  Actually, she isn't alright. The very fact that Rome and Rei got their stories crossed would be a secret that could not be held for long. If Oronus noticed it, as soon as he walked out the door, the Overmind of Earth would know. And MASAL would be listening!

  Entry 3-324: November 15, 2015

 

  Together. To die.

  In the middle of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, Rome and Rei had been kept separate while the Juoz (judge) had interrogated them. After he had extracted what information he needed, he allowed Rome and Rei to reunite before he pronounced sentence. This was a touching gesture but ultimately it was in vain because Rome's fate had already been sealed:

  Oronus just shook his head. “Have you had any contact with OMCOM since that time?”

  “No,” Rome replied. “Just the one time.”

  Oronus nodded. He lifted his hand and waved it once. Rome turned to see that there was a quarter sphere attached where the ceiling met two of the walls. Based upon her knowledge of Vuduri standard procedure, she assumed there was a camera or other recording instruments contained there. Starting with the admission by Oronus that he was temporarily disconnected and by the fact that her link to Aason had been severed the moment she entered the room, she knew the room was still under continuous T-suppression. That meant that Oronus was acting independently this entire time. Why, she had no idea.

  The inner door opened and Grus came in, holding the door for Rei.

  “Rei!” Rome said, getting up and running over to him. Rei put his arms around her and held her tightly. Rome heard a noise at the door and lifted her head up. Her eyes grew huge when Binoda entered the room.

  “Aiee!” Rome shouted. “I cannot believe it! Mea!” She let go of Rei and grabbed her mother for dear life. Tears welled up in her eyes, yet again.

  Her mother hugged her back. “So unlike you,” Binoda said after holding her daughter. Binoda put her hand under Rome’s chin and lifted it up, peering into her eyes. “Cesdiud suits you well,” Binoda said proudly.

  Rome beamed at her all the while tears streaming down her cheeks but these were tears of pure joy.

  Rome is comforted by Rei's presence and overjoyed to see her mother again but trust me, that feeling will not last long.

  Entry 3-325: November 16, 2015

 

  Time Travel Scrooge

  Over the years, I have listed a number of articles about Legal Time Travel. I have covered the topic of traveling forward in time by discussing the simple act of sleeping and the common wood frog and even frozen seeds. My conclusion regarding these methods of time travel? These people, animals and plants all travel forward in time but never return back to when they left.

  I have also discussed traveling backwards in time using such simple devices as yesterday's newspaper, watching a taped sporting event on a DVR and NASA's Extreme Deep Field (XDF) photographs of the universe when it was very young. What do we note about these forays into the past? None of these methods interact with the past, they simply observe. They cannot change them because the past is immutable.

  Also, as I have mentioned before, if time travel is ever invented, 100 years from now or even 10,000 years from now, and it somehow becomes legal to go backwards in time, where are these people? Why don't we see them wandering about?

  At this point, you are asking yourself why am I bringing all this up again? The answer is that I have been invited to participate in a symposium at this year's Philcon 2015 which is a science fiction convention held here in Cherry Hill, NJ. The symposium is called "The Uses of Time Travel" and the basic premise is the same is that discussed in my article entitled: Virtual time travel.

  In that article, I discussed using time travel to solve crimes and clear up historical (or scientific) mysteries but that's pretty much all I could think of. However this symposium is about what would you do if you could interact with the past. That is, go back in time or go forward and return with knowledge of the future. Here is the tag line:

  Why do you want to travel into the past or future? Knowledge? Loot? Talking yourself out of bad decisions? Setting up the best prank ever? If given the opportunity would you, or wouldn't you?

  I am debating whether I should tell them that you simply cannot go back in time (The Grandfather Paradox) and if you could go forward, observe and return with knowledge of the future, the one thing for certain is that that particular timeline ceased to exist the moment you returned making your information suspect. I wonder if I will get booed as a Time Travel Scrooge.

  Entry 3-326: November 17, 2015

 

  The 35th Century

  Most of the novel Rome's Revolution takes place between the years 3455 and 3456 AD placing it squarely in the 35th century. The people there call themselves the Vuduri and their civilization can only be called post-post-apocalyptic. Mankind was nearly wiped out in the year 2081 AD in an event called The Great Dying. It was triggered by a man-made virus later referred to as Darwin Strain 4.

  What few people were left gave up on civilized society and became wanderers or farmers. They remained that way for many centuries. While not quite the Dark Ages, life was very simple and dedicated merely to survival.

  Eventually, some progress was made and the survivors built a new civilization on the ashes of the old. The Vuduri had one founding principle: the life style and morals of the people of the 21st century led to the near-extinction of mankind. So anything they did, the Vuduri did the opposite. For example, when the time came to build flying machines, they used electro-gravity as a repulsive force to lift vehicles into the air. When the time came to go into space, they used launch cannons, that is gigantic miles-long railguns, to head into space.

  The Vuduri acquired a 24th pair of chromosomes which allow them to communicate directly mind-to-mind rendering verbal speech obsolete. The Vuduri eschew emotion, there are no couples, babies are raised in community nurseries.

  There is almost nothing about Vuduri society that is recognizable, other than the fact that there are a group of people living together and working toward societal goals. And they hold a great amount of animosity towards us, the inhabitants of the 21st century and blame us for The Great Dying.

  So when we sent frozen astronauts aboard gigantic Arks and they land in the 35th century, it sets up a great situation for comparing the two societies to see what is common to the human species and what could be different.

  The hero, Rei Bierak from the 21st century represents us and our point of view. When he is resuscitated, he meets a Vuduri woman named Rome. They fall in love and prove that love is timeless and universal. Their adventures together form the basis of not only Rome's Revolution but the sequels The Ark Lords and Rome's Evolution. They eventually have two children, Aason and Lupe, who have an adventure of their own in a novel entitled The Milk Run.

  The 35th century is a very interesting place and I spend a lot of time there!

  Entry 3-327: November 18, 2015

 

  Romance

  Yesterday, I gave you a quick summary of life in the 35th century. It provides a fascinating backdrop for the culture clash between the 24-chromosome Vuduri and what they consider the brutish representatives of the 21st century called the Essessoni. But at its heart, Rome's Revolution is a love story. It is not a romance novel with science fiction elements but rather a science fiction novel with romantic elements. The love story between our hero, Rei Bierak and his 35th century wife, Rome, is a love story for the ages, one that transcends time and space. Their union proves that love is a timeless concept and a basic part of human nature.

  Why did these two people, born 14 centuries apart fall in love? First off, I nee
ded them to for the novel to succeed. But more importantly, they are and always have been soul-mates. There is a brief short story embedded within Rome's Evolution called Intermezzo 1 which takes place just before Rei is launched into space. Rei and his former girlfriend, Sally Reynolds, are standing on a balcony:

  Rei said, “It’s just that I’ll never love anyone again the way I loved you. That part of my heart is kind of broken permanently.”

  “No it isn’t,” Sally said. “You’re too good of a person to go through life without somebody to love.” She pointed up in the general direction of the Moon. “Maybe the woman of your dreams is up there, waiting for you. Waiting to love you.”

  Rei focused on where Sally was pointing. On this night, the constellation Orion the Hunter was just to the southwest of the Moon. Light pollution from the city drowned out many of the stars that would have been seen in an earlier age. But Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, the three stars in a row marking Orion’s belt, were still very recognizable.

  “The star you’re pointing to is the grip on Orion’s shield,” Rei said, trying to be analytical. “I don’t remember its name… Tabit maybe? But we’re not going anywhere near there.” He turned his head, scanning the horizon. “There,” he said, pointing to the southwest. “That constellation down there, just over the trees, it’s called Cetus the Whale. The bright star right in the middle is Tau Ceti. That’s where we’re headed. Ain’t nobody there. And if they are, they’re little and they’re green.”

  Sally shrugged. “Says you.” She paused for a moment as if she were listening to an inner voice then she took in a deep breath. “I know you didn’t believe me when I told you this before. But almost dying made me a little bit psychic somehow. I’m telling you, I think your dream girl is waiting for you up there, somewhere. You just have to go and find her.” Sally smiled warmly. “Or maybe she’ll find you!” she added.