Aurona, page 34
Adam shrugged and smiled, all teeth, offering him a garbanzo bean. As the women scowled darkly, Elena caught his eye and gave him a discreet thumb’s up. Chuckling, he popped another bean into his mouth and trotted eagerly after Tola.
Many pale Bandor workers were toiling in the sun, unloading a long string of antigrav barges. Stacks of strange-looking supplies were being laid onto the beach in neat, orderly rows. They gibbered loudly to each other in their native tongue as they kept a wary eye on the jungle. Duron glanced up and waved the crew over.
“Oh, hello, people!”
As they focused on the old one, Adam’s prank was quickly forgotten.
“As promised, it is now time to introduce you to a new form of construction,” Duron explained brightly. “Let us go down closer to the shore of the lake so I can demonstrate this remarkable material to everyone at the same time. Adam’s grandfather invented what he called his AnchorPlank System for future surface dwellings! I will guide you in the individual phases of construction. It is really quite simple to set up a large complex of buildings, completely interconnected with passageways.”
His workers nodded enthusiastically: they could plainly hear their own Bandorese language over the translator button’s simulcast English translation.
“First!” He lifted up a long, quivering pole. “This is a Flexrod. It links inseparably to other Flexrods to make up any length you choose. The laminated material is a nearly indestructible alloy of Bitron origin, adapted for manufacture in our underground plants.”
They shrugged, looking at each other. Simple, so far.
“Second! This is an Anchorplank! As a mixed group gathered, Duron raised what appeared to be a thick, yet lightweight polymer board over his head. “They come in many lengths and shapes and connect to each other in modular sequence.”
They looked closer. Dotted lines of preformed holes were molded into the ends, a dovetailed groove ran down one long edge and a matching tongue down the other. The crew glanced at each other, shrugging. Okay, still simple enough.
Duron raised his hand. “Let me demonstrate the system thus far….” He directed his workers to slide a few Anchorplanks together on a patch of level ground. As another worker took several long Flexrods and joined them together, Duron dropped small capsules into the preformed holes on both ends of an Anchorplank. Gathering his robes, he knelt down on his knee, gesturing at the point of connection.
“The capsules contain what Adam’s grandfather called epoxy. The sharp ends of the Flexrods rupture them and the epoxy sets immediately, melding rod and plank as one.” His workers flexed a long, quivering rod into an arch and inserted the ends into the holes. Duron swept his arm in a radius over his head. “This large arch represents a profile, say a passageway between two buildings. Do you follow me thus far?”
Adam nodded. “Absolutely, Duron. It’s all amazing and quite intuitive.”
There was the sound of running footsteps. The rest of the crew joined them, tapping the translator buttons on their necks to listen. There was a mood of growing excitement.
“Third! These are Linkrods,” he continued. “They are also modular and come in many lengths, but these have small, connecting clips on their ends, see? They join horizontally, arch to arch. I think I will frame out a window with a few of these.” As his workers scampered ahead of him sliding Anchorplanks together and arching Flexrods into their holes, he proceeded to make an opening for a window, and then a door.
Walking a little further, he stooped down to pick up a short, rolled up section of netlike material. The group followed in a tight cluster.
“Fourth!” he continued, “Flexnet! This material diagonally stabilizes the modular sections of Flexrods and Linkrods and also serves as a scaffold, or base, for the finishing material to adhere to. This final bonding layer is a miraculous substance that Adam’s grandfather formulated, and it is the key to the whole system. Now watch as my workers demonstrate how fast this Flexnet ties the whole structure together.”
In ten minutes, an open-ended twenty-by-fifty-foot passageway was ready and leveled on the ground, with framed-out spaces for working doors on the ends. Sliding windows with built-in awnings were stacked nearby. They clicked a few into place on the sloped sides. The Bandor workers were noisily pointing at the piles and mouthing the odd-sounding English words: “Anchorplanks, Flexrods, Linkrods, Flexnets….”
Adam pushed at the taut web. “Wow, this stuff is superstrong! Really rigid! And all this prep work is just a base for the last, ah, miracle layer? What’s it called?”
Duron raised his arms. “Flexfoam! Yes, Adam, we are now ready!” He stepped aside to allow his workers to clip a pair of electrical cables to the skeletal structure. “We practiced this last step down in our city early this morning,” he explained. “There are thin, golden threads woven into the Flexnet to carry the current. Following your grandfather’s instructions, we are now going to apply a slight static charge to the whole unit.” On his signal, a large sled rose and hovered toward them. With its manipulator arms, tanks and hoses waving, it seemed almost alive. An electrical sizzle filled the air as the sled sprayed on a rubbery, epoxy-based material.
Adam was nodding enthusiastically. “Wow! This is way cool! I wish we had this stuff back on Earth for housing, especially for emergency situations! Poorer countries would love them! Are they inexpensive?”
Duron raised a wispy brow. “That is odd; your grandfather mentioned this as well. You two seem to think very much alike. Yes, he said they were, ah, ‘dirt cheap.’”
Adam chuckled. “Yup, that sounds like my grandpa all right.”
The static charge attracted the foam. As it flew through the air, it penetrated right through the mesh and covered the net-tunnel on both sides in one step. The froth swelled up, drying almost immediately to a grainy, light beige surface. There seemed to be no odor, no dripping, and no toxic-smelling residue. The workers adjusted the windows and doors, then squirted a thin line of Flexfoam around their perimeters.
The sample was complete. Duron stepped inside a doorway to finish his presentation. “Adam’s grandfather wrote that these units can be laid out in any modular configuration and in any height. They are completely waterproof and quiet. Additionally, they are rot- and vermin-proof, organically based, and nontoxic. Chewing jaws, burrowing animals, weapons, nothing seems to harm this dried foam. It is an ideal building material! Oh, and one more thing.” He picked up a small piece of Flexnet and shook it out. “With the addition of an optional outside layer of this same netting, the dwellings quickly become camouflaged in the jungle. Within a month, some species of our vines will completely overgrow a structure. You can easily cool the air inside and dry it out with a system of airlocks to ensure air temperature and quality….”
“Whoa!” Adam cut in, chuckling. “You sound like an infomercial, Duron!”
Tola picked up a blob of Flexfoam from the ground, stretching and testing it. “You’re right, Duron, a cooling system would really be efficient with this insulation!”
Duron pointed over their heads toward the lake, a faraway look in his dark eyes. “It even floats, people! Adam’s grandfather said it has a totally closed-cell formula. Conceivably, your crew could construct a floating city with bridges to link those islands out there….”
Abruptly, his tone changed completely. He turned to face the crowd,. “Listen to me, all of you! Adam and his grandfather have awakened our planet from a long, Dark Age of sleep into a great future! Up to now, we had been content and complacent with our underground existence, but no more! As of one hour ago, the expansion of our cities has come to an abrupt halt!”
“What? Adam stepped back, startled. “I … we really didn’t mean to….”
The old one seemed unstoppable. “Speculation is ablaze below with this new hope, this dream of a safe surface existence inside these dwellings!” His bony fist thumped on the hard, rubbery surface. “This has been a test for us, too, Adam! I will confirm the completion of this sample habitat to our people immediately!”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yes. Like you, Adam, I waste no time. I will transmit the results of your grandfather’s building plans, as well as your intentions to capture our Razah and Spyrin populations without delay!”
He stepped out of the building, planted his feet firmly in the tall grass, and closed his eyes. Out of nowhere, a series of strong waves pulsed through everyone’s bodies. They cringed, looking down at their feet in alarm.
Duron slowly raised his head. “There. It is done.”
Everyone was confused. “Done?” Tola coughed. “W-what’s done?”
“I have just updated the news. The entire planet knows.”
As the crew shook their heads in disbelief, Adam seized the opportunity. He beamed out a mind-question of his own, one that he’d only postulated before. “Duron, is planetary communication really possible? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You should warn all your people not to disclose the location of the big guns!”
That is amusing, Adam,” came the cryptic answer. “Of course you are referring to Dexor and his men. Do not worry, the secret is safe; it lies within each of us. If one knows, we all know. That is all I can say about this subject for now. I have already informed my people to avoid his group and ignore their questioning. They are quite easy to spot. Unlike us, your people are very different in their physical appearance.”
“Wow, that’s for sure,” he answered. “Sometimes it’s only by your special robes that I can tell it’s you, Duron. Well, thanks. You’ve answered my question.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Duron giving him a subtle, affirmative slit-smile and nod.
True to his nature, Adam immediately took action. Half a mile from the ship, he hammered a stake in the ground, proposing an ambitious, sprawling, twelve-acre complex. With a long rope in his hands, he walked in a circle, plotting out a large, mysterious circular area halfway between the jungle and the lake. Bandor and human, they all elbowed each other, exchanging questioning looks.
“Do I have everyone’s full attention?” He chuckled. Bending down with a Linkrod in his hand, he scratched out a strange-looking silhouette in the dirt. “There. That’s our first project: a tapering, three hundred-foot vertical tube.”
A tube? There was a sea of raised eyebrows and murmurs of bewilderment.
He explained, patiently. “This tube is important: It’s gonna be the anchor point for our whole complex: There’ll be a wide platform with a railing at the top’ and a simple antigrav barge will become a dedicated elevator up the center, shuttling people and equipment. Although it’ll serve primarily as a cooling system and watchtower, there’ll also be a battery of communications gizmos at the top. You know, various antennae and sensors mounted along the balcony’s rim?”
Their questioning murmurs were quickly transforming into genuine excitement.
Kron spoke for the group. “Ah, when do we start?”
Adam shrugged, glancing at his wrist programmer. “How about now? I say there’s no time like the present!”
They stared at him in shock.
“Well,” he hedged, “we’ll lay out the materials, plan it out, and start at one o’clock! Are you guys ready for a real challenge? I say we can build this tower in six hours!”
Their shock turned into gasps of disbelief.
“Let’s go! Let’s put these piles of building material through their paces!”
“B-but sir!” Tola stammered.
“No, think about it! Duron’s sample took only thirty minutes from start to finish, and he did the whole thing with only twelve workers. He kept stopping to explain as he went along, too!”
Kron was busily tapping on his wrist programmer. He looked up. “If that’s the case, sir, why don’t we up the ante? With our huge crew, I’d say we could knock out this tower in, say, four hours, tops!”
There was no hesitation. Behind him, the crew’s answer came back in the form of a raucous cheer. They sprang to work, running toward the site with bundles of Flexrods, Linkrods, and Anchorplanks bouncing on their shoulders.
The Auronian sun had dipped lower in the sky. At the top of the tower, a group of exhausted crew members, men and women, leaned against a smooth Flexfoam railing around a broad, circular platform. Their bodies soaked in sweat, they surveyed the sweeping panorama below. Some clustered around the big hole in the center, spreading their arms wide, luxuriating in the upward rush of strong breezes already being generated.
Adam mopped his brow, turning excitedly to Kron and Duron. “Ha! Instant tower! Some thought it was impossible, but here we are at the top!”
Kron glanced at his programmer. “Well, we came close. It’s five-thirty. It took four and a half hours, start to finish!”
Tola was leaning against the railing, a faraway look in his eyes. He’d spotted a large group of islands offshore, barely visible through the gathering mists. “Wow, I sure like the looks of those islands out there.” He turned to Duron. “Do you get many storms here on Aurona? I was thinking of, you know, possibly making a little, ah, hideaway cabin out there in a floating Flexfoam job?”
The elder gathered his fluttering robes tightly to his chest. “The Motherlodes have dampened out the worst of the storms and they do allow occasional wind,” he hedged. “But a great storm does happen about once in every thirty to fifty Earth-years. We are well within that time frame now.” He paused, sensing everyone’s apprehension. “Yes, we are due. The wind serves many purposes, such as carrying seeds and pruning deadwood. We do not seek to dominate nature, but conversely we do not let nature dominate us. We protect what we have. For instance, I am sure you have seen that our Motherlodes are bathed in light for six additional hours each daytime sector.” He nodded toward the big tree looming behind them. “Three in the morning, three in the evening. Yes, we pamper our providers.”
Adam had been listening quietly, his hand on his chin. Suddenly his head popped up. “Holy cow!” he exclaimed, staring at his programmer. “F-five-thirty? I’ve got a wedding to go to tonight!”
Kron spun toward him in shock. “Ah … whose?” he asked tentatively.
Duron’s slit-smile seemed to stretch halfway around his face.
“Yeah, whose, sir?” Peter echoed.
The old Bandor answered for them, sliding his thin arm around Adam’s shoulders. “This one,” he pointed. “This one is getting married!” His slit-smile had reached impossible limits. “I must say it is about time! Elena is an excellent choice for a mate!”
As the top of the tower resounded with jubilant shouts, a matching chorus of squeals answered from below. It seemed that Elena had just made the same announcement.
Duron beamed, drawing Adam close. “You and your women are no longer guests but family, our brothers and sisters. Your motives are transparent, honest, and exciting! Our paradise is your paradise, so please stay and as you say … colonize!”
Chapter 19: RAZAH
They met breathlessly inside the base of the new tower, their footsteps muffled by the rubbery, textured surface of the round room. Adam made a discreet shooing motion, and the last of the crew slipped away to give them a few moments of privacy. He pulled Elena close, his face flushed in exhilaration.
“Ready?”
“I’ve been ready all my life.”
“Well, it has been a long time, about seven hundred years….”
“Really, Adam? That long, huh?
“Yup! We were destined for each other. It-it just took a while to get here!”
As they embraced, Elena’s eyes traveled up the walls of the empty tube. At the top, a few lingering shafts of sunlight were gilding a semicircle.
“Speaking of here,” she breathed, “Where are we?”
“Huh?” His mind had been racing.
“What is this thing we’re in, a giant chess piece or something?”
“Hey, you’re right!” he exclaimed. “It does look like a huge castle! Well, this chess piece is just the beginning. See all those stakes we pounded into the ground outside? They mark off the rest of our city….”
“City?” she interrupted. “I thought you guys were just going to build a small research lab, a few holding pens….”
“Hey,” he shrugged, “we got carried away!!”
“Well, what is it?” she persisted. “This thing looks like a tall Bandor with his robes flaring out at the bottom. All it needs to complete the illusion is a big head!”
“That’s coming later,” he nodded, straight-faced. “The radome. You know, a big weatherproof bubble to cover all the equipment?”
She raised a brow. “You’re actually building a giant Bandor? That’s scary, Adam. For your information, some people have even weirder ideas about it. For one, Tola says it looks like a modern-day Tower of Babel on the Plain of Shinar.”
He let out a belly laugh. “He did, did he? Well, you can tell that little round exclamation point that he’s dead on! It will be a tower of ‘Babble’! We purposely built the structure this high to house our communications equipment, among other important things.”
Her eyes crinkled. “‘Babble?’ Really, Adam. You’re as bad as Tola. But why don’t you let us know all this stuff beforehand? Wait, wait, don’t answer; you like to keep us guessing, right?” She thought a minute. “Well, personally, I don’t care. I think the shape is elegant. It’s an elegant solution and an extremely resourceful use of a brand-new material! I’m proud of you!” She clung to him for a long, silent moment, listening to the muffled buzz of the crew’s voices outside the wide cargo door.
Kron poked his head in, glancing at his programmer. “Almost time, guys.”
“I’m nervous, Adam.” She rubbed her arms, shivering. “And why’s it so cold in here, anyway? Where’s all that wind coming from?”
“I like to keep you guessing, remember?” he winked. “C’mon. I’ll tell you later. They’re all waiting outside with our, ah, limo.”
In high spirits, they hurried over to one of the numerous arched doorways. Kron was standing in the waning sunlight, his hands on his hips. As Adam coughed discreetly, he spun on his heel.
Many pale Bandor workers were toiling in the sun, unloading a long string of antigrav barges. Stacks of strange-looking supplies were being laid onto the beach in neat, orderly rows. They gibbered loudly to each other in their native tongue as they kept a wary eye on the jungle. Duron glanced up and waved the crew over.
“Oh, hello, people!”
As they focused on the old one, Adam’s prank was quickly forgotten.
“As promised, it is now time to introduce you to a new form of construction,” Duron explained brightly. “Let us go down closer to the shore of the lake so I can demonstrate this remarkable material to everyone at the same time. Adam’s grandfather invented what he called his AnchorPlank System for future surface dwellings! I will guide you in the individual phases of construction. It is really quite simple to set up a large complex of buildings, completely interconnected with passageways.”
His workers nodded enthusiastically: they could plainly hear their own Bandorese language over the translator button’s simulcast English translation.
“First!” He lifted up a long, quivering pole. “This is a Flexrod. It links inseparably to other Flexrods to make up any length you choose. The laminated material is a nearly indestructible alloy of Bitron origin, adapted for manufacture in our underground plants.”
They shrugged, looking at each other. Simple, so far.
“Second! This is an Anchorplank! As a mixed group gathered, Duron raised what appeared to be a thick, yet lightweight polymer board over his head. “They come in many lengths and shapes and connect to each other in modular sequence.”
They looked closer. Dotted lines of preformed holes were molded into the ends, a dovetailed groove ran down one long edge and a matching tongue down the other. The crew glanced at each other, shrugging. Okay, still simple enough.
Duron raised his hand. “Let me demonstrate the system thus far….” He directed his workers to slide a few Anchorplanks together on a patch of level ground. As another worker took several long Flexrods and joined them together, Duron dropped small capsules into the preformed holes on both ends of an Anchorplank. Gathering his robes, he knelt down on his knee, gesturing at the point of connection.
“The capsules contain what Adam’s grandfather called epoxy. The sharp ends of the Flexrods rupture them and the epoxy sets immediately, melding rod and plank as one.” His workers flexed a long, quivering rod into an arch and inserted the ends into the holes. Duron swept his arm in a radius over his head. “This large arch represents a profile, say a passageway between two buildings. Do you follow me thus far?”
Adam nodded. “Absolutely, Duron. It’s all amazing and quite intuitive.”
There was the sound of running footsteps. The rest of the crew joined them, tapping the translator buttons on their necks to listen. There was a mood of growing excitement.
“Third! These are Linkrods,” he continued. “They are also modular and come in many lengths, but these have small, connecting clips on their ends, see? They join horizontally, arch to arch. I think I will frame out a window with a few of these.” As his workers scampered ahead of him sliding Anchorplanks together and arching Flexrods into their holes, he proceeded to make an opening for a window, and then a door.
Walking a little further, he stooped down to pick up a short, rolled up section of netlike material. The group followed in a tight cluster.
“Fourth!” he continued, “Flexnet! This material diagonally stabilizes the modular sections of Flexrods and Linkrods and also serves as a scaffold, or base, for the finishing material to adhere to. This final bonding layer is a miraculous substance that Adam’s grandfather formulated, and it is the key to the whole system. Now watch as my workers demonstrate how fast this Flexnet ties the whole structure together.”
In ten minutes, an open-ended twenty-by-fifty-foot passageway was ready and leveled on the ground, with framed-out spaces for working doors on the ends. Sliding windows with built-in awnings were stacked nearby. They clicked a few into place on the sloped sides. The Bandor workers were noisily pointing at the piles and mouthing the odd-sounding English words: “Anchorplanks, Flexrods, Linkrods, Flexnets….”
Adam pushed at the taut web. “Wow, this stuff is superstrong! Really rigid! And all this prep work is just a base for the last, ah, miracle layer? What’s it called?”
Duron raised his arms. “Flexfoam! Yes, Adam, we are now ready!” He stepped aside to allow his workers to clip a pair of electrical cables to the skeletal structure. “We practiced this last step down in our city early this morning,” he explained. “There are thin, golden threads woven into the Flexnet to carry the current. Following your grandfather’s instructions, we are now going to apply a slight static charge to the whole unit.” On his signal, a large sled rose and hovered toward them. With its manipulator arms, tanks and hoses waving, it seemed almost alive. An electrical sizzle filled the air as the sled sprayed on a rubbery, epoxy-based material.
Adam was nodding enthusiastically. “Wow! This is way cool! I wish we had this stuff back on Earth for housing, especially for emergency situations! Poorer countries would love them! Are they inexpensive?”
Duron raised a wispy brow. “That is odd; your grandfather mentioned this as well. You two seem to think very much alike. Yes, he said they were, ah, ‘dirt cheap.’”
Adam chuckled. “Yup, that sounds like my grandpa all right.”
The static charge attracted the foam. As it flew through the air, it penetrated right through the mesh and covered the net-tunnel on both sides in one step. The froth swelled up, drying almost immediately to a grainy, light beige surface. There seemed to be no odor, no dripping, and no toxic-smelling residue. The workers adjusted the windows and doors, then squirted a thin line of Flexfoam around their perimeters.
The sample was complete. Duron stepped inside a doorway to finish his presentation. “Adam’s grandfather wrote that these units can be laid out in any modular configuration and in any height. They are completely waterproof and quiet. Additionally, they are rot- and vermin-proof, organically based, and nontoxic. Chewing jaws, burrowing animals, weapons, nothing seems to harm this dried foam. It is an ideal building material! Oh, and one more thing.” He picked up a small piece of Flexnet and shook it out. “With the addition of an optional outside layer of this same netting, the dwellings quickly become camouflaged in the jungle. Within a month, some species of our vines will completely overgrow a structure. You can easily cool the air inside and dry it out with a system of airlocks to ensure air temperature and quality….”
“Whoa!” Adam cut in, chuckling. “You sound like an infomercial, Duron!”
Tola picked up a blob of Flexfoam from the ground, stretching and testing it. “You’re right, Duron, a cooling system would really be efficient with this insulation!”
Duron pointed over their heads toward the lake, a faraway look in his dark eyes. “It even floats, people! Adam’s grandfather said it has a totally closed-cell formula. Conceivably, your crew could construct a floating city with bridges to link those islands out there….”
Abruptly, his tone changed completely. He turned to face the crowd,. “Listen to me, all of you! Adam and his grandfather have awakened our planet from a long, Dark Age of sleep into a great future! Up to now, we had been content and complacent with our underground existence, but no more! As of one hour ago, the expansion of our cities has come to an abrupt halt!”
“What? Adam stepped back, startled. “I … we really didn’t mean to….”
The old one seemed unstoppable. “Speculation is ablaze below with this new hope, this dream of a safe surface existence inside these dwellings!” His bony fist thumped on the hard, rubbery surface. “This has been a test for us, too, Adam! I will confirm the completion of this sample habitat to our people immediately!”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yes. Like you, Adam, I waste no time. I will transmit the results of your grandfather’s building plans, as well as your intentions to capture our Razah and Spyrin populations without delay!”
He stepped out of the building, planted his feet firmly in the tall grass, and closed his eyes. Out of nowhere, a series of strong waves pulsed through everyone’s bodies. They cringed, looking down at their feet in alarm.
Duron slowly raised his head. “There. It is done.”
Everyone was confused. “Done?” Tola coughed. “W-what’s done?”
“I have just updated the news. The entire planet knows.”
As the crew shook their heads in disbelief, Adam seized the opportunity. He beamed out a mind-question of his own, one that he’d only postulated before. “Duron, is planetary communication really possible? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You should warn all your people not to disclose the location of the big guns!”
That is amusing, Adam,” came the cryptic answer. “Of course you are referring to Dexor and his men. Do not worry, the secret is safe; it lies within each of us. If one knows, we all know. That is all I can say about this subject for now. I have already informed my people to avoid his group and ignore their questioning. They are quite easy to spot. Unlike us, your people are very different in their physical appearance.”
“Wow, that’s for sure,” he answered. “Sometimes it’s only by your special robes that I can tell it’s you, Duron. Well, thanks. You’ve answered my question.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Duron giving him a subtle, affirmative slit-smile and nod.
True to his nature, Adam immediately took action. Half a mile from the ship, he hammered a stake in the ground, proposing an ambitious, sprawling, twelve-acre complex. With a long rope in his hands, he walked in a circle, plotting out a large, mysterious circular area halfway between the jungle and the lake. Bandor and human, they all elbowed each other, exchanging questioning looks.
“Do I have everyone’s full attention?” He chuckled. Bending down with a Linkrod in his hand, he scratched out a strange-looking silhouette in the dirt. “There. That’s our first project: a tapering, three hundred-foot vertical tube.”
A tube? There was a sea of raised eyebrows and murmurs of bewilderment.
He explained, patiently. “This tube is important: It’s gonna be the anchor point for our whole complex: There’ll be a wide platform with a railing at the top’ and a simple antigrav barge will become a dedicated elevator up the center, shuttling people and equipment. Although it’ll serve primarily as a cooling system and watchtower, there’ll also be a battery of communications gizmos at the top. You know, various antennae and sensors mounted along the balcony’s rim?”
Their questioning murmurs were quickly transforming into genuine excitement.
Kron spoke for the group. “Ah, when do we start?”
Adam shrugged, glancing at his wrist programmer. “How about now? I say there’s no time like the present!”
They stared at him in shock.
“Well,” he hedged, “we’ll lay out the materials, plan it out, and start at one o’clock! Are you guys ready for a real challenge? I say we can build this tower in six hours!”
Their shock turned into gasps of disbelief.
“Let’s go! Let’s put these piles of building material through their paces!”
“B-but sir!” Tola stammered.
“No, think about it! Duron’s sample took only thirty minutes from start to finish, and he did the whole thing with only twelve workers. He kept stopping to explain as he went along, too!”
Kron was busily tapping on his wrist programmer. He looked up. “If that’s the case, sir, why don’t we up the ante? With our huge crew, I’d say we could knock out this tower in, say, four hours, tops!”
There was no hesitation. Behind him, the crew’s answer came back in the form of a raucous cheer. They sprang to work, running toward the site with bundles of Flexrods, Linkrods, and Anchorplanks bouncing on their shoulders.
The Auronian sun had dipped lower in the sky. At the top of the tower, a group of exhausted crew members, men and women, leaned against a smooth Flexfoam railing around a broad, circular platform. Their bodies soaked in sweat, they surveyed the sweeping panorama below. Some clustered around the big hole in the center, spreading their arms wide, luxuriating in the upward rush of strong breezes already being generated.
Adam mopped his brow, turning excitedly to Kron and Duron. “Ha! Instant tower! Some thought it was impossible, but here we are at the top!”
Kron glanced at his programmer. “Well, we came close. It’s five-thirty. It took four and a half hours, start to finish!”
Tola was leaning against the railing, a faraway look in his eyes. He’d spotted a large group of islands offshore, barely visible through the gathering mists. “Wow, I sure like the looks of those islands out there.” He turned to Duron. “Do you get many storms here on Aurona? I was thinking of, you know, possibly making a little, ah, hideaway cabin out there in a floating Flexfoam job?”
The elder gathered his fluttering robes tightly to his chest. “The Motherlodes have dampened out the worst of the storms and they do allow occasional wind,” he hedged. “But a great storm does happen about once in every thirty to fifty Earth-years. We are well within that time frame now.” He paused, sensing everyone’s apprehension. “Yes, we are due. The wind serves many purposes, such as carrying seeds and pruning deadwood. We do not seek to dominate nature, but conversely we do not let nature dominate us. We protect what we have. For instance, I am sure you have seen that our Motherlodes are bathed in light for six additional hours each daytime sector.” He nodded toward the big tree looming behind them. “Three in the morning, three in the evening. Yes, we pamper our providers.”
Adam had been listening quietly, his hand on his chin. Suddenly his head popped up. “Holy cow!” he exclaimed, staring at his programmer. “F-five-thirty? I’ve got a wedding to go to tonight!”
Kron spun toward him in shock. “Ah … whose?” he asked tentatively.
Duron’s slit-smile seemed to stretch halfway around his face.
“Yeah, whose, sir?” Peter echoed.
The old Bandor answered for them, sliding his thin arm around Adam’s shoulders. “This one,” he pointed. “This one is getting married!” His slit-smile had reached impossible limits. “I must say it is about time! Elena is an excellent choice for a mate!”
As the top of the tower resounded with jubilant shouts, a matching chorus of squeals answered from below. It seemed that Elena had just made the same announcement.
Duron beamed, drawing Adam close. “You and your women are no longer guests but family, our brothers and sisters. Your motives are transparent, honest, and exciting! Our paradise is your paradise, so please stay and as you say … colonize!”
Chapter 19: RAZAH
They met breathlessly inside the base of the new tower, their footsteps muffled by the rubbery, textured surface of the round room. Adam made a discreet shooing motion, and the last of the crew slipped away to give them a few moments of privacy. He pulled Elena close, his face flushed in exhilaration.
“Ready?”
“I’ve been ready all my life.”
“Well, it has been a long time, about seven hundred years….”
“Really, Adam? That long, huh?
“Yup! We were destined for each other. It-it just took a while to get here!”
As they embraced, Elena’s eyes traveled up the walls of the empty tube. At the top, a few lingering shafts of sunlight were gilding a semicircle.
“Speaking of here,” she breathed, “Where are we?”
“Huh?” His mind had been racing.
“What is this thing we’re in, a giant chess piece or something?”
“Hey, you’re right!” he exclaimed. “It does look like a huge castle! Well, this chess piece is just the beginning. See all those stakes we pounded into the ground outside? They mark off the rest of our city….”
“City?” she interrupted. “I thought you guys were just going to build a small research lab, a few holding pens….”
“Hey,” he shrugged, “we got carried away!!”
“Well, what is it?” she persisted. “This thing looks like a tall Bandor with his robes flaring out at the bottom. All it needs to complete the illusion is a big head!”
“That’s coming later,” he nodded, straight-faced. “The radome. You know, a big weatherproof bubble to cover all the equipment?”
She raised a brow. “You’re actually building a giant Bandor? That’s scary, Adam. For your information, some people have even weirder ideas about it. For one, Tola says it looks like a modern-day Tower of Babel on the Plain of Shinar.”
He let out a belly laugh. “He did, did he? Well, you can tell that little round exclamation point that he’s dead on! It will be a tower of ‘Babble’! We purposely built the structure this high to house our communications equipment, among other important things.”
Her eyes crinkled. “‘Babble?’ Really, Adam. You’re as bad as Tola. But why don’t you let us know all this stuff beforehand? Wait, wait, don’t answer; you like to keep us guessing, right?” She thought a minute. “Well, personally, I don’t care. I think the shape is elegant. It’s an elegant solution and an extremely resourceful use of a brand-new material! I’m proud of you!” She clung to him for a long, silent moment, listening to the muffled buzz of the crew’s voices outside the wide cargo door.
Kron poked his head in, glancing at his programmer. “Almost time, guys.”
“I’m nervous, Adam.” She rubbed her arms, shivering. “And why’s it so cold in here, anyway? Where’s all that wind coming from?”
“I like to keep you guessing, remember?” he winked. “C’mon. I’ll tell you later. They’re all waiting outside with our, ah, limo.”
In high spirits, they hurried over to one of the numerous arched doorways. Kron was standing in the waning sunlight, his hands on his hips. As Adam coughed discreetly, he spun on his heel.
