Aurona, page 44
A movement caught Joelle’s eye. “Look, everyone!” She was pointing upward, her voice tinged with panic. “Our starship’s rising!”
As the starship’s great shadow dimmed the afternoon sun, they drew in a collective breath: Adam was hovering directly over the city! Why? With a distant whirr, the gel-pads began to angle around on the ends of their long booms and the craft slowly descended.
“What in the world?” Kron whispered to Tola. “He-he can’t be thinking….”
The round man interrupted excitedly. “He is! He’s gonna do it!”
Like a great eagle settling gently into her nest, the saucer hovered over the ring, rotated a few degrees, and then touched down. The rubbery ring of walls gave with a collection of squeaks as the ship squeezed tightly into place. Immediately, the circular, bowl-shaped form made sense: the ‘final union’ had taken place!
They all stood amazed at Adam’s ingenuity: using a schematic of the starship and a HyperCAD program, he’d plotted out the whole thing to the fraction of an inch. The once-random, slanted openings now lined up precisely with every airlock and cargo bay under the hull. With sleeping quarters, dining hall, assembly rooms and holo-theater inside, the starship now served as both a focal point and nerve center.
Yes, the domed city was complete. The light-beige color of the saucer’s hull even matched the surrounding ring of buildings; from afar, the seamless, curving roof melded gracefully with the continuous four-story ring around its perimeter. The avant-garde shapes of curving, covered walkways, soaring glass atriums, artfully sculpted commander’s quarters, and even the looming Communications Tower near the rainforest formed a cleverly realized, eye-pleasing and functional unit.
Adam disembarked and stepped out into the brilliant, late afternoon sunshine. Officiating over a short, impromptu ceremony, he and Elena cracked a bottle of the lake’s clear water on a floating, fan-shaped AnchorPlank pier. They christened the new city Prima. Number one. A new beginning.
Prima. The five-letter word pleased the Bandors greatly. The name hadn’t been chosen by chance; Adam had put a lot of thought into its selection. As he’d toiled side by side with the Bandor workers, he’d listened attentively to all the great Auronian cities and powerful leaders they’d mentioned, faithfully recording the odd-sounding names into his wrist programmer’s electronic notebook. It didn’t take long to see phonetic patterns emerging: with very few exceptions both people and cities were strictly confined to five letters, things had six, and all rolled off the tongue nicely in two syllables. For eons, this clever letter-play, this inflaming name-game had been their custom, their tradition.
Glancing repeatedly at the sky and jungle, Dexor and his men watched the ceremony from an atrium’s large, soaring window. They’d grown more and more apprehensive as the long, exhausting days of building had passed, expecting the Scarred One and his hordes of aliens to show up at any minute. Wordlessly they shrugged, rolled their eyes and left the bright, empty room to join the throngs below. The fateful time was nearly upon them.
As the last, fading columns of light winked out over the distant Motherlodes, Adam eased back in his luxurious new commander’s quarters and let out a sigh of exhaustion. He’d secretly installed some tiny, remote stereo mikes and floating holo-cameras out in the jungle. With a series of voice commands, he began to watch and listen to the rainforest’s nighttime symphony unfolding in three dimensions all around him, the pinpoint lights from the Arren Trees splashing over his curving walls.
“Elena?” he called, excitedly. No answer; she was busy in the bathroom.
He yawned and went back to his project, his finger running down a long list of cities he’d compiled. “Arrix, Belan,” he muttered, “Felay, Hanor, Kezet…,” he stopped short, his finger hovering over a particularly interesting name. “Meseo?” he sounded out the word. “Mes-e-o. Hmm, three syllables, how untraditional.” He suddenly remembered a short, intriguing statement from Duron. The old one had mentioned that Meseo was far beyond untraditional: breaking all the rules, it was constructed totally underwater. A relatively new project for the Bandors, it was top-secret and only about six hundred years old.
He leaned back, scheming. “Underwater? Yes, that’s it, a perfect first venture! It’s about time we explore a little and enjoy the planet; we’ve been working our butts off since we got here!” With visions of an ocean expedition filling his mind he closed his eyes, listening in awe to a chiming, bell-like sound in the distance. It was strange, dissonant, yet somehow melodious.
There was a faint rustle of fabric, and Elena poked her head out of the bathroom. “Ooh, that’s beautiful, Adam! Dazzors? Where’s the sound coming from?”
He opened his eyes and turned to her. She was wearing a gauzy number embroidered with delicate gold filigrees and entwining leaf motives. Amazing! Did one of the Bandor women give it to her? She blushed at his stares of admiration.
“Ah-ah-ah … yes, Dazzors,” he stuttered. “They’re ringing out the long day, oh apple of my eye!”
She batted her lashes. “You noticed!”
“Noticed? Noticed? I’d have to be a blind corpse not to!” He patted a spot on the bed next to him. She shimmied a few steps closer and then stopped abruptly.
“No. First tell me what I’m thinking.”
“What? Aww, you said you didn’t….”
“It’s okay, I want you to this time! I have a feeling you’d really like to know,” she teased. “You told me that you’d read my mind if I asked you.”
“Well, truthfully, it might give you a headache,” he cautioned.
She scowled. “Well, headaches go away! Besides, I think you’ll find out that what I’m thinking is very, very interesting. In fact, extremely interesting!”
“I don’t know…,” he hedged.
“Aww, c’mon! Please, please, please!”
“Elena, I prom….”
“Chicken!” She plopped herself down and crossed her arms determinedly.
He sighed and rubbed his chin, his rock-solid resolve about mind-etiquette crumbling like sand on the shore. She’d piqued his curiosity with her air of mystery.
She glanced at him over her shoulder, one eye squinted shut. “I know it’ll be a win-win if what I think will happen happens. Just read my thoughts and you’ll see … see?”
He winced at her easy repartee; she could dish it out without even trying. “Okay, get ready.” He concentrated gently, then pushed a little harder. She smiled enigmatically at him, her brows raised.
He sat back in shock. “Three?”
She tilted her head. “That’s not what I’m thinking! What…?”
He held up his hand. “No, no. Three signals! I’m hearing three distinct thought waves!” His mouth dropped open, his eyes falling to her still-flat stomach. “Are you….”
“Pregnant? Yes, Adam. I know just by the way my body’s been acting the last few days. But seriously, you can’t be inferring that a little lump of cells can think, can you?”
“Not one lump, two lumps!” he corrected. “It’s unmistakable, hon! I’m distinctly hearing three signals: A strong, clear one—yours—and then two weak, fuzzy ones! You’re gonna have twins!”
It was Elena’s turn to be astounded. “It’s true!” she gasped. “All my life I’ve been wondering!”
Oh-so-gently he pulled her close, holding her like a piece of fragile crystal.
“Oh c’mon, hug me, you big goober!” She shoved him hard, knocking him off balance. “I won’t break!” She patted her hair back into place. “Twins really do run in my family; both of my grandmothers were fraternal twins!”
He pulled her closer and put his ear to her stomach. “In that case,” he grinned mischievously, “you should be having quadruplets!”
She set her jaw. “You…. Already it starts! I think that deserves a bite!”
He drew back. “No! Not that! Anything but that!” She opened wide and lunged for his arm. As two perfect rows connected he thrashed around helplessly convulsed in spasms of laughter. “Lemme go, lemme go! Ouch! Uncle!”
She let go. “No more baby jokes?”
“No baby jokes.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said levelly, watching him out of the corner of her eye. “We both know that’s impossible, Adam. You can’t help yourself. You’re possessed.”
He feigned shock, bordering on hopelessness. “I-I am? Well then,” he grimaced, “I guess there’s no saving me. In that case….” Solemnly contemplating his pillow, he commenced to stuff it into his mouth.
She crossed her arms, watching. “Go ahead….” A smile suddenly played across her lips. “Put the whole thing in. It’ll fit.”
He stopped, mid-stuff: There it was, another zinger. She’d done it again. With his shoulders shaking in muffled laughter, he pulled out a corner.
“Lemme help you!” She yanked it out with gusto. Her pinky immediately flew into the air. “Yuck! Now you’ll be sleeping on a wet pillow!” As she gingerly put it aside, his list of Bandor names fluttered out onto the floor. “What’s this, Adam?” She bent down to retrieve it, her voice trailing away.
Silence. He was sticking out a dry-looking tongue.
“Adam? Answer me. What’s this list? It seems to be people, cities….”
“Meseo,” he croaked.
“Huh?”
“Meseo. It’s on the list. It’s an undersea wonder! Ah, by the way, we’re going there tomorrow, you and me. It’s on the other side of the planet.”
She sat bolt upright, her questions spewing out in a flurry. “Is it safe? What about my condition? Are there pressures under the ocean? Are….”
“Whoa!” He held up his hands. “You’re barely pregnant and it’ll be perfectly safe! After all, we slept on a Bandor starship hurtling through space for seven hundred years! That’s old technology to them. Millions of years old!”
“Are you sure we’ll…?”
“Absolutely!” He paused a moment, thinking, and then with a straight face, churned out a mighty effort. “Ah, Meseo’s brand new, not a sea-quel! It’s their most current city. Catch my, ah … drift?” Grinning smugly, he coughed behind his hand, rightly proud.
She stiffened. “You can’t help yourself, can you?” She scrambled for his wet pillow. “Catch my drift!” It swung through the air, catching him broadside.
Chapter 24: MESEO
The day dawned stormy and wet. Waking up in his new quarters, Adam gazed through the tall windows at the choppy waters of the lake. Rain again? The encroaching AugerBlade trees were definitely affecting the ecosystem. He studied the scuttling clouds, then shook Elena gently and went into his big closet to rummage around. Wanting to look his best for this first official outreach, he decided to switch to his commander’s dress uniform. He put it on, studied himself approvingly in the mirror, then pulled the starship’s discs and keys out of his old uniform’s pocket. Staring at them in his hand he pondered a moment, and then shrugged. No, he didn’t need to take them anymore: the starship was docked and lashed down securely into place as the hub of the new city. Shoving and prying, he inched a big jungle speaker away from the wall and hid them behind it.
While Elena was getting dressed, he sprinted through the rubbery, curving corridors to get Tola. He delighted in the little round man’s company, especially his easy sense of humor and inventive knack with wordplay. Whispering excitedly, they walked back to his quarters to join Elena. As they waited, he tapped out a message on his wrist programmer: Kron would be in charge of Prima in their absence.
Shortly, the three slipped away in the morning downpour. As their SpeedSled hurtled toward the Solumbra portal on a preprogrammed AAP course, the rain danced and sputtered like butter on a hot skillet over their heads: The electrically charged shields burst the water into steam on contact, leaving a rocketlike contrail twisting through the rainforest.
Duron was waiting excitedly at the Solumbra with several elders at his side. They flew down into the bright underground vault of a city and then to the newest set of gleaming speed tubes. In minutes, the small party and their gear were being whisked through the center of the planet. A small bell chimed. They stared at each other in disbelief. They’d arrived already? It had only been minutes! As the doors opened, even in their wildest imaginations they weren’t prepared for the sight.
A fantastic, floating city hung suspended before them in an interlocking series of bubbles. Although night was falling on this side of Aurona, the great city of Meseo glowed from within, alive with light.
They stepped warily out of the tube. The air was cool and dry, with a gentle breeze playing through the tops of tall palms lining the streets. Forever passionately curious, Adam edged up to the perimeter and poked at the glasslike wall. It was unexpectedly hard: some kind of unknown force field had to be keeping these bubbles rigidly in place and maintaining normal atmospheric pressures inside.
As they rounded a sprawling complex of buildings and stepped out into a great central park, they let out a gasp. Artfully arranged in varying sizes, huge bubbles of water were hovering in the air, suspended over the clearing! Evidently, that same mysterious force field could also contain water! Adam tapped Elena on the arm. In body language, he expressively cupped his hands to form three sphere-shapes within each other in succession.
“I see them!” she whispered. “Bubbles of water, within air, within water!”
Duron overheard her. “Yes, Adam’s grandfather gave us a name for these bubbles before he left. Back then, our joint project was in its earliest planning stages. He called them ‘Seaquariums’: floating bubbles of varying sizes, the water pressurized inside each one to a specific, preset depth. The undersea specimens you see inside these Seaquariums come from all over our planet and range from tiny surface dwellers to the deepest ocean denizens.”
Adam gestured at the ocean outside their huge bubble. “On the other hand, we might be seen by those sea creatures as if we were in their terrarium, right? They’re probably looking at us right now, licking their chops!”
“Chops, Adam?” Duron was trying to keep up, baffled.
Bugging out his eyes, he pointed emphatically at his gaping mouth. Delighted, the elders let loose with a round of hoots and appreciative laughter.
Elena’s nails dug into his arm. “Adam,” she gasped. “Look, a sea serpent!”
Looming over their heads in the center of the grassy park, a mammoth bubble several hundred feet in diameter blotted out the overhead light. They peered up into it uneasily. Behind great rafts of seaweed, a great, paddle-footed torpedo shape with a snakelike neck was banking in a wide turn. A pair of alert-looking eyes had caught their movement and began to swim toward them.
She cringed, groaning in fear. “He sees us, Adam!”
“Oh, we’d be just a snack,” he reassured. “An appetizer.”
“Adam,” she scowled. “There’s a time and a place….”
He turned. “Hey, that’s right, Duron, how do you feed them?”
The old one raised a skinny arm, nodding to a uniformed Bandor worker. “Actually, Matek is about show you right now.” Standing behind a brightly lit console mounted on a podium, an attendant proceeded to punch in a sequence of commands. Duron turned, pointing silently into the distance with a slender finger.
A small bubble of water was disengaging from the far wall, looking almost like a tiny, dividing daughter cell. As it popped free and floated swiftly toward them, they could see life forms thrashing about inside.
“Food,” Duron explained. “We locate and capture each creature’s natural prey outside, in the open ocean. Animal, vegetable, or both.”
They watched the feeding process in fascination. As the smaller bubble floated up to the larger one and paused, the great sea-beast commenced to lash about hungrily. His prey roiled in panic against the far wall of their tiny prison. Paddling furiously, the monster turned and surged toward his dinner at a tremendous velocity, crashing into the force field!
Grimacing, Adam pried Elena’s fingernails from his arm. “Ah, hon?”
She opened one eye.
“Elena! It’s okay; the shell didn’t crack! Look!”
She squinted upward warily. “Oh, Adam! They’re not….” Answering her half-formed question, the bubbles simply merged and the food was snapped up immediately.
The old Bandor continued, unhurried. “As you see, we are able to join bubbles as easily as we separate them.” He held up a cautionary finger. “But before they merge as one, pre-equalization is necessary.”
“How do you do that?” Adam prompted. “Some kind of pumps?”
Duron smiled. “No, it is far easier than that. I am sure you noticed that the smaller bubble paused. At that point, we were constricting its skin to increase the internal pressure and equalize it with the larger one. Unequal pressures invariably cause one bubble to rupture its contents into another, sometimes making them swell dangerously.”
“Like a water balloon, right?”
Once more, the Elder’s heads tilted questioningly.
Thinking quickly, Tola intervened. “Ah, try to understand the concept of a ‘balloon,’ guys. Here’s an example: the creature we call an Aeronauta is essentially an air balloon, so filling him up with water could make him a water balloon, right?”
Behind them, the young Bandor worker was eavesdropping at his post, scratching his head and completely baffled. Duron chuckled. “Ah, yes, I think I understand, Tola. Water … inside a balloon. Soon we will know more about your rich culture, but right now we can only imagine such delights.” He turned to them, expounding on this new idea. “All over the planet, we form selectively pressurized water balloons around living sea creatures, in effect trapping them, and then transport whole clusters of these balloons through the oceans to Meseo. Gathering behind that ocean ridge over there, we are collecting a day’s ration for each specimen in our underwater zoo.”
Adam nodded enthusiastically. “Food pills!”
Duron hooted in delight, glancing over his shoulder at the other elders. “These, ah, food pills approach Meseo constantly, Adam,” he chuckled, “from the furthest reaches of the planet.”
