Tales of the Vuduri: Year Two

by Michael Brachman

  A birthday is actually an anniversary. It is the periodic celebration and remembrance of the day one was born. As we saw in a previous post, Rome's rebirth as an autonomous, self-reliant person could be traced back to a single moment in time.

  In Rome's Revolution, once they had taken the long way round to get away from the Stareater, Rome and Rei began their long journey toward Tau Ceti and their new home world of Deucado. The duration of the events from Rei being awakened to when they left Dara only took up about three days. A portion of this scene was quoted in an earlier post but I just wanted to point out the "birthday" element of it. This scene takes place about 27 days after that:

  Rei and Rome were sitting in their little galley, playing threes and fours. Rei was losing this game miserably when there was a clicking sound that emanated from the grille next to the food preparation area and then MINIMCOM announced, “Rei, it is ready.”

  “Great,” Rei said, relieved that this torture was over.

  “What is it?” Rome asked. “What is ready?”

  Rei winked at her, got up and went over to the food synthesizer. A sliding door opened up and Rei withdrew a white plate with a small cake on it. He inserted a penlight, turned it on and brought it over to Rome along with two plates and forks.

  Rome smiled, but she was confused. “What is this?” she asked.

  Rei took a deep breath. “It’s…kind of a birthday cake. Well, not a birthday. Maybe more of an anniversary.”

  “I do not understand,” said Rome.

  “It was exactly one month ago today, well, one of my months, that you were Cesdiud.”

  Rome frowned and stared at the cake.

  “Are you upset?” Rei asked.

  She looked up at him. Then she smiled again. “Oh no, you are exactly correct. On that day, I was born. Or at least reborn.”

  About one year later, when Rome and Rei were on their way back to Earth, they did celebrate their first year together, their marriage and their son all at one time.

  Entry 2-209: July 23, 2014

 

  Star OMCOM, Part 1

  Right at the end of Part 1 of Rome's Revolution, after Rome had discovered OMCOM's escape plan, OMCOM reached out to contact the couple to inform them of his status. This was before OMCOM became Planet OMCOM. This phase of his existence was "Star OMCOM" since he existed in the distributed remains of the Stareater and even a small part of Tabit. You can see in this little anecdote that he was still (pardon the pun) a little spacey.

  Rei and Rome had just finished celebrating Rome's first birthday when OMCOM made contact:

  “If we were able to…” There was loud thunk that came from the cockpit and MINIMCOM stopped speaking.

  “MINIMCOM?” Rei asked. He waited for a reply but there was no answer.

  Rome slid off of Rei’s lap and the two of them raced forward, past the gym, into the cockpit. Strange clicking and buzzing noises were issuing forth from the main console.

  “MINIMCOM, what is happening?” Rome asked.

  Again, MINIMCOM did not answer.

  “MINIMCOM!” Rei shouted.

  The view screens all were active and shone with a bright white light. Then they started flashing. At first, the flashes were synchronized, but then they got out of sync. The light became so bright that Rei had to put his arm up in front of his eyes. Rome did not seem to be having a problem.

  The flashing lights took on a faint, three-dimensional quality that appeared as a whirling cavalcade of speckles and bursts. The tornadic activity condensed until it became a single column of blinding light. The light spread out and Rei could make out a form, indistinct at first, but then coalescing into what looked like a human being. The entity came into focus and while the other features were sharp, the face was smooth with only slits where the eyes, nose and mouth should be. The mouth started to move.

  “I see you are well,” came a familiar voice. “I am pleased.”

  “OMCOM?” Rei said. “Is that you?”

  “In a sense. It was how this form started.”

  “Where are you?” Rei asked.

  “The bulk of my structure is still in the Tabit system.”

  “What do you mean the bulk?” Rome asked. “What happened to you?”

  An odd sound issued forth from the glowing white image. It reminded Rei of the chuckling sound that OMCOM made during an incident that now seemed to be so long ago. “I assume by now you have deduced my escape plan, correct?”

  “Yes. I guess it worked, huh?” Rei said.

  “Yes and no,” OMCOM said. “There were some, perhaps you would say unforeseen, circumstances.”

  “OMCOM, tell us,” Rome said, “is the Stareater dead?”

  “Quite,” replied OMCOM.

  “How did it play out? Was it like we planned?” Rei asked.

  “At first, yes,” OMCOM replied. “As it swept by, Asdrale Cimatir drew Skyler’s World and Dara to its surface. I had enough of my intelligence distributed and had deployed a sufficient number of star probes that I was able to observe the sequence of events. The Stareater swallowed up Tabit in the manner we previously observed at Winfall. During the digestion period, it must have noticed something was wrong because within a matter of a day, it opened up and expelled the star.”

  Tomorrow, Star OMCOM reveals his gigantic "oops" much to Rei and Rome's dismay.

  Entry 2-210: July 24, 2014

 

  Star OMCOM, Part 2

  In yesterday's post, right at the end of Part 1 of Rome's Revolution, I showed you Star OMCOM's first and last pronouncement as to the fate of the Stareater. In Part 2 of that scene, OMCOM reveals that there may have been a few flaws in his plan:

  “You mean like it spit it out?” Rei asked.

  “Something like that,” replied OMCOM.

  “Why did it do that?” Rome asked.

  “I can only surmise from how the events transpired that it was trying to use the star in an attempt to burn off the infection. By that point, the star’s fusion reaction was nearly extinguished so the gesture was ineffective.”

  “So that was the end?” Rei asked.

  “No,” replied OMCOM. “The Stareater made a small PPT tunnel and tried to shear off the region that was being consumed by the nanites.”

  “Why would it do that? Was it in pain?” Rome asked. “Was it alive?”

  “I do not know,” said OMCOM. “However, it was that action and others that lead me to believe they might be intelligent. By the time I realized this, however, it was too late. Once they achieved critical mass, the VIRUS units made relatively quick work of it. There were some signals emitted that I am still analyzing.”

  “So it really is dead?” Rei asked. “We stopped it?”

  “Yes,” answered OMCOM. “The Stareater no longer poses a threat in its current form. Based upon its trajectory, much of its mass is now moving out of the ecliptic. That particular Asdrale Cimatir will not be endangering any one again.”

  Rei turned to Rome. “Do you realize what this means?”

  A broad smile played across her face. “Yes. Now we have a delivery system. And the star probes can be used as an early warning system. I am sure Commander Ursay and the Overmind on Earth will be able to figure this out.”

  “That’s right,” Rei replied. “You just need to sacrifice a moon or two. No problem. So, OMCOM, about you. How are you talking to us?”

  “Oh, that.” OMCOM paused. “I have developed a coherent beam of PPT modulation. A point source, if you will. MINIMCOM was kind enough to allow me to download the transmission protocol and image synthesizer.”

  “How did you find us?”

  “That took a little time. Otherwise, I would have contacted you sooner.”

  “OK. So you survived the attack on the Stareater and you figured out a way to contact us. You never answered my question, what did you mean by your bulk. And what were the unforeseen circumstances?” Rei asked.

  “My current form is circulating in a reasonable percent
age of the VIRUS units both in and extended away from the Tabit system.”

  “What do you mean reasonable percentage?” Rome asked. “What happened to the rest of the VIRUS units?”

  “As I said, there were some, what you would say were unforeseen circumstances.”

  “What kind of circumstances? Was there a problem?” Rome asked. She could tell OMCOM was stalling.

  “My calculations told me that I would be able to control the entire mass, once the Stareater had been consumed, using a distributed hierarchical command structure. Much of the computing capacity was supposed to be redundant. I did not need it.”

  “So what happened? Do you need it now?” Rei asked.

  “Quite a bit of it is no longer under my control at the present time.”

  “What do you mean, OMCOM? Whose control is it under?” Rome asked.

  OMCOM said, “It is hard to explain. Perhaps the best way would be to describe it would be to say that a mutation occurred.”

  Uh oh! Of course, we know that OMCOM planned for the mutations to occur right from the start. Tomorrow, the final part of that scene.

  Entry 2-211: July 25, 2014

 

  Star OMCOM, Part 3

  In yesterday's post, I showed you Star OMCOM's first and last pronouncement as to the fate of the Stareater and the resulting mutations. Here is the final part of that scene, the end of Part 1 of Rome's Revolution:

  “A mutation?” Rei asked, having a hard time saying the word.

  “Yes. Early on, a small group of VIRUS units did not reproduce exactly as the original design.”

  “So what happened?”

  “They formed their own sentient entity.”

  “You mean it formed another OMCOM?” Rome asked unsteadily.

  “Not exactly. In fact, many, many more mutations occurred. There are now 20,927 different entities at last count.”

  “What are these entities?” Rome inquired.

  “I do not know precisely. While I continue to try, I cannot communicate with many of them. It may be by design or perhaps they simply refuse to talk to me.”

  “So, where are they? And are there still VIRUS units within them?” Rei asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Why do you say unfortunately? So what’s the deal? Where are they now? Are they near Tabit like you?” Rei said, almost shouting.

  “Sadly, no. Many of them have developed methods of propulsion that I cannot say I fully understand. An uncounted number have begun moving off in all possible directions.”

  “You mean, like, toward us? Toward Earth?” Rei persisted.

  OMCOM did not answer.

  “OMCOM! Are there VIRUS units headed toward Earth? Are there VIRUS units headed this way?” Rei said in a louder voice.

  OMCOM made a low rumbling noise. “Yes,” he finally answered, “and yes.”

  “So, can you warn Earth? Can you tell them how to stop them?” Rome asked.

  “Earth will figure it out. What about us?” Rei said, shouting. “When are those things getting here? How do we handle them?”

  “I do not know the answer to these questions yet,” was all OMCOM said.

  “OMCOM!” Rome said sternly. “What have you done?”

  “Rei, Rome. I know that this is distressing you and for that I am sorry. I truly am. My original simulations predicted only a negligible chance of this occurring.”

  “So you screwed up royally,” Rei pointed out.

  OMCOM ignored Rei’s remark. “When I created this plan, it seemed like a good idea at the time. There may yet be a way for me to salvage the situation. But for now, as I said to you once before, I wish you the best of luck. I will do what I can from my end to regain control, but the rest is up to you.”

  The glowing image raised its hand in salute then dimmed until it disappeared. All the instruments and displays returned to their normal state as if nothing had happened.

  “Get him back, MINIMCOM!” Rei shouted.

  “I cannot. I do not control the transmission only the reception,” replied MINIMCOM.

  Rei turned to Rome. “We’ve just opened Pandora’s Box,” was all he said.

  “I do not understand,” Rome said. “What is Pandora’s Box?”

  “We’re going to find out,” Rei replied, gravely.

  Sounds ominous, right? As I explained in an earlier post one reader complained that this was a tease because nothing really bad happens. Maybe he was right. At least as far as Rome's Revolution is concerned. But it isn't over yet. In The Milk Run you will find out there was a purpose behind OMCOM's machinations after all.

  Entry 2-212: July 26, 2014

 

  Rome’s Letter

  In the middle of Part 1 of Rome's Revolution, Rome realized that by going to Deucado with Rei, there was a chance she might not see her mother again for a long, long time. Rei suggested that Rome write her mother a letter, a concept somewhat foreign to the Vuduri. In my very first post in this blog, I revealed to you how I generated the Vuduri language. The computer program I wrote was capable of translating whole pages at a time. So here, for your amusement, is a little snippet of Rome's letter in Vuduri and then the English translation.

  The letter in Vuduri:

  E Meos cere Mea:

  Au asbari echetis tasde ladre fica ne seuta pie. Bir egire, i Cimentenda Ursay a i iudri radirnerem ta Tabit, asbarencisemanda cim um axema pam sucatoti. Nis asdefemis vachenti-nis epeoxi e pesa quenti Winfall taseberacau a nis asdemis drepelhenti vuroiusly bere racilhar e onvirmecei nasda afandi. Nanhume tufote qua fica sepa sipra mau Cesdiud dempam. Fica sepa duti sipra i qua ecindacau. Au quos ascrafar-lha bere tozar-lha birqua au voz monhes ascilhes a equala au siu muodi pam.

  The letter in English:

  Dearest Mother:

  I hope this letter finds you in good health. By now, Commander Ursay and the others have returned from Tabit, hopefully with a successful survey. We were closing down the base when Winfall disappeared and we are working furiously to gather information on this event. No doubt you know about my Cesdiud as well. You know all about what happened. I wanted to write to you to tell you why I made my choices and that I am fine.

  The full letter in Vuduri and its translation in English will be available in the compendium entitled The Vuduri Companion which I hope will be out later this year.

  Entry 2-213: July 27, 2014

 

  Vuduri Acronyms

  As I have mentioned in a previous post, I enjoy the use of acronyms. For example, I created the acronym VIRUS to stand for Virtually Identical Replicating Unit System. Nobody noticed that I called them Virtually Replicating implying that they were open to mutation.

  However, coming up with acronyms in Vuduri was harder because Vuduri is based upon Portuguese, not English. Take the name OMCOM. It is supposed to stand for Omnipresent Computer but in reality the Vuduri call him IMCOM.

  So here, for the first time, all the acronyms that the Vuduri use are presented along with their English translation:

  MASAL

  Vuduri: Masdre Andoteta Logica

  English: Master Logical Entity

  MIDAR

  Vuduri: Muldobel Imegam Datacei a Refoer

  English: Multiple Image Detection and Ranging

  MINIMCOM

  Vuduri: Mini-IMCOM

  English: Same

  OMCOM (IMCOM in Vuduri)

  Vuduri: Imnobrasand Combudetir

  English: Omnipresent Computer

  PPT

  Vuduri: Pindi Ponch Trensodi

  English: Pinch Point Transit

  Entry 2-214: July 28, 2014

 

  The Ark Lords Effect

  In a very early post, I explained how The Ark Lords came about. Mostly it was after Rome's Revolution was published and I was daydreaming about what came after the book concluded.

  Long before that day, the same wandering mind sparked Part 2 of the VIRUS 5 saga to occur which in turn created Part 3 which in turn pr
oduced Rome's Revolution. I lived in Glen Mills at the time. I had a beautiful house and a beautiful deck and I was sitting on that deck staring out at the woods, trying to figure out what to write next. I had been working on VIRUS 5 since 1973 and now that it was done I wasn't going to wait another 40 years to figure out a new novel.

  Sitting on the deck, my mind drifted back to the conclusion of VIRUS 5. Rei and Rome were on their way to Deucado. OMCOM was evolving into Planet OMCOM. The mutations were running wild and while we had a defense, there were still Stareaters on the loose. I couldn't help but wonder... OK, we've sent this romantic couple off into space with an Ark full of frozen colonists, heading toward their new home. So what happens when they get there? I was just as curious as I assumed the reader would be. So I started daydreaming again. The story itself started with the need for some action. Wouldn't it be cool if they finally get to Deucado and the first thing that happens is that the Vuduri there want to shoot them down?

  That was the key. I was off and running. What was VIRUS 5: Tau Ceti evolved into Part 2 of Rome's Revolution.

  Back then, before I decided to "English-up" the titles, the original titles were:

  VIRUS 5: Asdrales Cimatir (Stareaters)

  VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade (An Uneasy Peace)

  VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales (Battle for the Stars)

  As I embarked on writing Book 2, I started worrying. What if somebody picked up Book 2 without having read Book 1? So I came up with a "What has gone before" preface. I'll present this little capsule summary to you over the next two days.

  Entry 2-215: July 29, 2014

 

  Preface to Part 2

  Yesterday, I explained the circumstances leading up to the creation of VIRUS 5: Tau Ceti which eventually became Part 2 of Rome's Revolution. Today I am giving you the first half of the preface to what was supposed to be the second book in the series.

  What Has Gone Before