“Thank you for your generosssity,” replied Timsssack, “here isss the Tasssley tea leavesss. I sssuggessst a short sssimmer in sssteamy hot water, then cool it ssslightly with sssome warm water to pressserve the bessst flavor.”
“Very well then, please come this way,” said Bellmus, barely able to contain his joy over receiving the tealeaves, “I see you brought your son Tessslan with you. My son will be thrilled. He is looking forward to spending time with him.”
In the dining hall, the Electerians had replaced their comfortable high-back chairs with padded benches, taken from their living quarters, for the comfort of the Graznosians. Bellmus had perceived that, with their tails, it would be impossible for them to sit in the high-back chairs. There were a number of large tables set up in the hall and he had arranged them so that an equal number of chairs and benches were at each one. He wanted to ensure that there would be no segregation due to fear or uncomfortable feelings. Once everyone found a seat and sat down, waiters brought in plates of food and served the guests first and then the Electerians.
Each plate was the shape of a half circle on the bottom with a slightly raised triangular section on top. A fresh assortment of fruits and vegetables—all considered delicacies on Electerus—filled each plate. There was the Tamlick—a purple colored, ball shaped, sweet fruit; and the Martent—a gold colored, pyramid shaped, sour fruit. For the greens, there was the Kabla—a thick, meaty leaf covered in a sweet red pepper sauce; and the Tilkner leaf—a dark-green, two-inch-round, thin leaf with a pale blue tart sauce. Both were from plants engineered for maximum nutrition on the Electerian farms. Topping off the triangular section of the plate was the Ritnum root—a bright yellow, crunchy, flower root with a light cinnamon and honey taste, covered with a powdered sweetener. For drinks, they had pure water and an orange-colored citrus juice called, Matia.
“Ah, this is my favorite,” exclaimed Lyemad as he went to stick his fork into the Ritnum root.
“May I have your attention,” said Bellmus, giving Lyemad a quick stare, “Let us toast our new found friendship, may we have many such meals together for generations to come.”
“Yesss, yesss,” said Timsssack, as the rest of the hall echoed his salute.
Although the Graznosians eat some insects, they are mostly vegetarians and they found the Electerian food to be pleasant. They were not accustomed to sauces covering their vegetables, but it was an interesting taste experience for them.
As they finished the meal Bellmus said, “Tessslan, would you like for Lyemad to show you around the ship?
“Oh yesss, that would be niccce,” Tessslan replied.
As the two young men left the hall, Bellmus asked, “Now, would anyone care for some of that Tasley tea?” hoping that not too many would say yes.
While all the delegates sat talking, Lyemad took Tessslan and a translator around the ship. When they got to his quarters, he passionately showed him all the wonderful things that he had brought from Electerus. He had pictures of his family, science projects he had made, some carvings he had done as a child, and many other things.
Somewhat alarmed by Lyemad’s attitude towards the items, Tessslan said, “Why do you disssplay ssso much affection towardsss objectsss that are made by your own handsss, do you not believe in the Creator?”
“Yes, we believe in a Creator, but what does that have to do with being proud of what I have accomplished?” Lyemad asked in a perplexed tone.
“We have found the ‘Way of the Flidoring’ and do not cherish ssselfish thingsss anymore,” replied Tessslan.
“I do not believe that I am being selfish at all,” argued Lyemad, “besides, what makes your Flidoring thing so special?”
“The Flidoring cannot be explained, you can only know it once you have experienccced the…” started Tessslan.
“Alright, you do not have to lecture me,” interrupted Lyemad, “if you are so special, then why is it that we came to your world? Besides, I am proud of what I have made and I think that you are jealous. Now come, let’s get back to the dining hall.”
After two more days of talks and the drafting of a peace agreement, the Electerians left Graznos for their home world. Lyemad and Tessslan were cordial but did not spend any more time together before their departure. Bellmus felt the trip to be a huge success and was sure that history would remember his name among the great ones. Timsssack, relieved that the peace agreement was signed, wondered how the two different cultures would be able to get along.
Once back on Electerus, after the welcome home parade, Bellmus immediately started working on genetically modifying a native plant with the Tasley leaves that he brought back from Graznos. He was obsessed with having a way to extend his tenure as Supreme Ruler. He could hold the position for as long as he could prove to be healthy enough to perform his duties. The average Ruler stayed in power for twenty-five years. Bellmus was hoping to extend that to at least forty with the help of the Tasley plant.
Chapter IV
Fruit of Bitterness
Bellmus was in the back section of his lab where he had a secret room set up for working on the Tasley plants, when Lyemad walked in and said, “Father, will you please come out of the lab and spend some time with us? You have buried yourself in your lab for the last ten years now. When will you accept the fact that the Tasley plant does not work on Electerians? Ever since we came back from that first trip to Graznos, you have been obsessed with this useless plant.”
“Mind your manners my son, I am still the Supreme Ruler and your father,” Bellmus barked back at him.
“I am sorry father, but your health has gotten worse. I fear that the council might vote you out if you do not get out and attend more events. The Graznosians are due to arrive here tomorrow and you have not met with the council to set the agenda.”
“Yes, yes, I know, but I have almost figured out the genetic code for making this plant work for us. I will see the council later.” Bellmus said with a desperate tone.
“Father, please do not put them off any longer. Tessslan is leading the Graznosian envoy this time. Why not tell the council that you are putting me in charge for this summit?” Lyemad pleaded.
“Good idea, Lyemad, that will give me the time I need for this last modification on the plant,” said Bellmus excitedly. “I will see you at the ‘Hall of Elders’ in thirty minutes. Get everyone ready and make sure you wear one of the family robes.”
Lyemad went straight to the Hall after grabbing one of his father’s green robes and calling the entire ruling body together. He was plotting in his mind how to use his father’s obsession to gain more control. Over the last ten years, Lyemad had come to despise the religious superiority that Tessslan expressed every time they got together. He reasoned with himself that with more control, he could show off to Tessslan and perhaps get him to be less snobbish. Lyemad had spent the last few days studying some old religious texts to find some good arguing points, just in case Tessslan started spouting off.
The purpose of this summit, which the Angelians would also attend, was to discuss the terms of use for the Joint Space Platform. Both the Electerians and the Graznosians had made several trips to Angelus in the past few years, whose white-skinned humanoid inhabitants have long, thin arms that reach down to just below their knees. Their eight fingers extend out of the end of their arms like tentacles, each about nine inches long with little suction cups all over them. The Angelians have two legs that connect to each other by a webbing of skin, which makes their stride short and causes a “swooshing” sound as they walk. The webbing runs all the way down to their fin-like feet. They are great swimmers, and because they have both lungs and gills, they can breathe in or out of water. The gills are not noticeable because their arms conceal them under their armpits.
Angelus, being the third planet away from Styner, is somewhat cooler than Electerus and Graznos. Glowing yellow water covers three-quarters of the planet, while ice, over two hundred feet thick, covers the north and south poles. Tiny microbes
called Archemalites (Are-chem-a-lights) permeate the water and synthesize the Styner light, causing them to glow a bright yellow color. The Archemalites are a major part of the Angelian diet, which they consume by either drinking or breathing the water. Their gills have special strainers that collect them and process them for nutrition.
The land on Angelus is made mostly of volcanic rock. The “Islands of Streams” or “Tick tick trill click tick Click tick trill tick click”, as the Angelians call them, are chains of islands that form wavy lines around the planet. Positioned on the fault lines of the tectonic plates, new islands are forming continuously while the waves of the seas are constantly eroding them away. Life on the islands includes a vast variety of birds that migrate from island to island and spread the seeds of a variety of plant life. The newer islands have smaller grasses and bushes, while the older have more trees and forests. There are numerous insects and small rodents, but no other animal species.
The seas on Angelus are where most of the life forms are found. There are over two million different species of fish, crustaceans, and mammals. In some places, the water is fifteen thousand feet deep, with life residing everywhere. Everything from microscopic life forms to gargantuan sea monsters makes up the food chain, of which the Angelians are not on the top. They can fall prey to half-a-dozen different creatures if not careful. Steam vents and underwater lava flows create miles of tunnels and caves that provide shelter from the larger predators.
The Angelians live in the vast networks of caves that are on the more stable island chains. The caves have openings in and above the water. Inside the caves, they have developed into a moderate technological society. Veins of metals and other rare elements are easy to extract from the volcanic rock, but they are scarce. Buildings with a need for high security or for power generation use steel. The rest are of wood and stone.
At the time the Electerians first made contact with them, the Angelians had no off-world communications or spaceships, but they did have electro-magnetic force fields in some of the larger caves on the islands. They communicated through a series of clicks, ticks, and trills that work very well under water, but it took the universal translator a few minutes to figure out the dialect, which made everyone nervous because the Angelians were quite scared by the arrival of the Electerians. As a race, Angelians were somewhat reclusive, and the Electerians had a hard time convincing them to leave their home world. After ten years, the space station summit was only the second time that they had been to Electerus. The one spaceship the Angelians had was given to them by the Electerians, but the Angelians had donated a lot of the labor used to build the Joint Space Platform.
The Space Platform was a launch site for ships traveling to other star systems. The Electerians decided to build it in orbit around Graznos because that was the central location for the three inhabited worlds around Styner. Moreover, it accommodated the Angelian workers not wanting to travel too far from their home world. It had two crescent shaped sections facing each other with a long access tube connecting them. The entire Platform was spinning in a circle with the center of the access tube as the axis. The spinning motion gave the two crescents artificial gravity. For safety purposes, they decided to make one side for housing the workers and the crews of ships, and the other side was for docking the ships. At that time there was only one ship docked at the station, the experimental Warp-Drive vessel. It had passed all of the short run tests and would be making its first trip to the nearest star system after the summit was over. Representatives from all three worlds would be making the voyage.
At the “Hall of Elders”, forty-five minutes had gone by and the council members were starting to give Lyemad a hard time about his father not being there. All of a sudden Bellmus walked in.
“Brethren,” Bellmus called out, “I know that I have not been with you very much over the past few years. I believe that I owe you an explanation. I have been working on something that will greatly enhance the lives of all Electerians. I will be making a formal declaration to the council shortly, but for now, I am appointing Lyemad to lead this summit with the Angelians and the Graznosians. He has my full authority and reports directly to me.”
With that, Bellmus turned and walked out. Suddenly many of the members started questioning what he could be working on, while others murmured over why Lyemad should be in charge.
“Honorable members of the council,” shouted out Lyemad, “please, let us take our seats and start laying out the agenda for this summit.”
Slowly everyone settled down into their seats as Lyemad proceeded, “I know this may seem awkward to many of you, however, I am well prepared for this and I want all of your involvement. This is not about power struggles; this is about leading three worlds into the next age of space flight. What we do here in the next couple of days will lay the groundwork for generations to come.”
After seeing his maturity, and hearing how seriously he took the responsibility, no one uttered another word against Lyemad. Within hours, they drafted the agenda for the summit and were ready to receive their distinguished guests at daybreak. Lyemad had left the Hall feeling confident that everything was going smoothly, and most of all he felt that Tessslan would have to realize his equality and change his condescending attitude towards him.
As the early morning Styner light peeked over the tall Steelopolis buildings, Lyemad and the rest of the council on Electerus stood at the edge of a landing platform located on the top of the diplomatic housing facility next to the “Hall of Elders”. They did not need glass barriers or bunkers to protect them because, by then, the ships for all three worlds used electro-magnetic fields—instead of blast-jets—for takeoffs and landings. They automatically guided the ships on and off the platforms using redundant computers, virtually eliminating the possibility of a landing disaster.
A low-pitch, dual-tone siren sounded just as the Graznosian ship appeared from behind one of the tall edifices—eclipsing the brilliant Styner light. Subsequent to a smooth touchdown, the bulkhead door slowly lowered to form a gently sloping ramp. Tessslan confidently strolled down the steel incline, dressed only in a light wrap made from fine red and gold silk, taken from the Black Rock Worm—common in the Cline forests on Graznos.
“Welcome to Electerus honorable guests,” Lyemad saluted with his arms spread wide and chest puffed outward.
Surprise by the fact that Lyemad was leading the welcoming committee, Tessslan replied, “Thank you for your hossspitality!” Then, moving towards him continued with, “May your four handsss alwaysss clap to the rhythm of your two heartsss,”—which is the appropriate polite greeting for long time friends on Electerus.
“Yes indeed, and may your tongue grow ever longer while your tail waxes stronger,” replied Lyemad, with the correct response, even though he was somewhat annoyed by Tessslan’s use of the friendly greeting. “Please, come with us to the ‘Hall of Elders’, we have much to discuss before our Angelian guests arrive and before our upcoming trip.”
With a big swing of his long green robe, Lyemad spun around with flare and started toward the staircase leading down off the landing platform. His self-importance was quite evident to everyone, but his confidence and determination to see a successful conference left a more lasting impression, especially to Tessslan. The young Graznosian leader was only interested in securing his world’s involvement with the history-making voyages to the stars. He had come to accept Lyemad’s pride and arrogance as a character flaw caused by a lack of spiritual awakening. He thought to himself, “Ssstride in toleranccce; run with balanccce.” That was a children’s saying he had learned, before his experience of the Flidoring, to help him get along with his younger brother. Aloud he said, “All of Grazzznosss isss committed to the sssucccesss of the Joint Ssspaccce Platform and our firssst mission to the ssstarsss.”
In the “Hall of Elders”, Lyemad started covering as many of the details about the mission as possible before the Angelians were to arrive. He knew they were slow making decisions, and t
hey make better servers than leaders. He did not want to offend them, but neither did he want to spend days trying to get them involved with every detail. When they did arrive, Lyemad made every effort to make them feel included, but he simply gave them the details already decided upon by the other delegates—proving his diplomatic skills were sharpening.
The Angelian arrival provided a good breaking-point for Lyemad and Tessslan. At times, the tension between them was making everyone edgy. They had accomplished most of their agenda, but not without a further deterioration of their already flimsy friendship. At one point Lyemad was so frustrated at Tessslan’s ramblings about a religious tradition, which he wanted them to follow for a departure blessing, that he used a childhood attention-grabber called a “Clickclasper”. That is when one would do a loud and rapid succession of finger snapping and hand clapping that sounds like, “Snap, snap, clap, snap, snap!” An Electerian would use his two inside fingers and thumbs to make the first two “Snaps” finishing just in time to clap the inside palms together, and followed with the two outside fingers and thumbs making the last two “Snaps”—all within less than a second. Electerians considered it very rude, and Lyemad was quite embarrassed after the room fell silent and the Electerian delegates glared at him in shock and disbelief.
Upon the conclusion of many hours of discussions and debates, they had worked out all the details of who would operate the Space Platform; how it would be maintained; when they would depart; in what order they would enter the ship; what would be said; and who would say it. They had written down everything they had decided on a formal document. All the delegates from the three worlds signed the accord and agreed to have a public ceremony—first on Electerus, then on Graznos, and finally on Angelus. At each world, the delegates signed a separate special ceremonial copy, which they kept on display to mark the start of their bold adventure to other star systems.
Flidoring The Early Wars Page 3