Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five

by Michael Brachman

  He lifted his head and was gladdened to see that there was the slightest separation between the lattice and the cargo compartment. Rei fired his hand thruster again and the distance increased infinitesimally. A broad smile formed across his face. Over and over, Rei fired the thruster until there was a three-meter gap between him and the Ark.

  That was enough. Rei pulled his boots free and stood up. He tried to push off so that he could go back toward the cargo compartment but the only effect he had was to begin rising up, floating away from the lattice and the entire propulsion module.

  He had a moment of panic but was able to suppress it by realizing that the tether protected him from drifting off into interstellar space. He raised his arm over his head and fired the hand-thruster. The reactive force drove him downward and where the tether caught on the edge of the Ark, he pivoted downwards toward the vertical face. By twisting his body again, he came at the Ark feet first. His magnetic boots clamped solidly on the newly exposed vertical end.

  Rei could feel Rome pulling in the slack and there was the inevitable tug. Proudly, he tugged back twice. Geometrically, he was in an odd position. He was actually standing at right angles to the length of the Ark and he knew Rome could no longer see him, but their communication system would assure her he was all right. Rei looked down at his feet and saw that he was now “standing” on the giant cargo door enclosing that module.

  Hmm. Standing on the cargo compartment door. And inside is his music slab. He's already practically there. Should he go for it? Tomorrow, we will find out.

  Entry 5-264: September 21, 2017

  Ray’s Space Walk – Part 8 of 10

  Five years before the events that were described in Rome’s Evolution, Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 8 of 10:

  Rei thought about the contents of the compartment beneath which supposedly contained all the equipment required to start a viable human colony on an alien world. It also contained his personal effects which comprised some clothing, a few books, his transit and his music slab. Rei’s eyes grew wide. He realized he would never get an opportunity like this again but he had to have Rome’s permission. The last thing he wanted was for Rome to misunderstand and come after him.

  Rei tugged on the tether once, hard. Rome tugged on it in response. He tugged on it twice gently so she knew he would be OK. He had her attention so he did it again. He pulled the tether once hard. Rome repeated her actions as did he. Now she had to know something was up. She was a smart girl. As long as he kept their system intact, he knew she would let him do this.

  He stepped aside and released the clamps holding the door closed. The huge door swung open easily as there was no pressure differential. Like the crew compartment, the cargo section was designed to be exposed to the vacuum of space. Rei shined his helmet lights down the long belly of the cargo compartment and saw a twin pair of mesh walkways leading down its length. Rome tugged on the tether and Rei tugged back twice.

  He entered into the cargo compartment and slowly made his way down its length, noting the contents as he passed them. In the end closest to the hatch, where he just entered, there were the large yellow-striped cubes marked Transports. In front of them were boxes containing the drilling equipment and beyond those were the mining explosives. They had the international symbol for radioactivity which Rei ignored and moved on. Beyond that were the smelting furnaces for refining ore. Next were the bio-stocks: the frozen animal embryos, the seeds, the incubators, all the items they would need to start farming. Past mid-ship were various tools, masonry kits, machining equipment, hunting rifles and so forth.

  Rei moved on. Finally, he got to the storage lockers. They were arranged alphabetically and it took him no time at all to find his storage cube. He pulled it open and surveyed its contents. He looked longingly at his clothes and polymer-plastic books but decided he did not need them just now. He certainly didn’t need his straight razor. He reached in and pulled out his music slab which was a gift from his parents. It was solar-powered and the music was burned into a silicon wafer so, in theory, it would last forever. Rei’s breath caught. Holding the music slab in his hand made him think of his parents who were now so long gone as was every other person he ever knew or loved. Including Sally. Even though from his perspective, it had only been a few months, the reality was they died over a thousand years before. The thought was staggering. They were all dust. Rei had a moment of panic. What had he done?

  Tomorrow, Rei comes to grips with the reality of his situation.

  Entry 5-265: September 22, 2017

  Ray’s Space Walk – Part 9 of 10

  Five years before the events that were described in Rome’s Evolution, Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 9 of 10:

  Rei felt a tug on the tether. Instinctively, he tugged back twice. Rei couldn’t help but think back to that last night he had spent with Sally. Out on her deck, under the night sky, he claimed to her that she had left a hole in his heart that could never be filled. But she had insisted he was wrong. Sally had told him he’d find his dream girl among the stars. At the time, he thought it was beyond ridiculous but now he realized she was right. The true love of his life was alive and well and anxiously awaiting his return. His heart was whole again. In fact, it was brimming over. There was no more past. His future was with Rome. Rei slid the music slab and the ear-buds into a side pocket and turned to go back.

  He looked down the long length of the cargo compartment and thought about what Estar had said to him, that they were carrying Erklirte weapons. Anything could be turned into a weapon. The hammer clipped to his side could be used as a weapon. The hunting rifles were the closest things to actual weapons but they hardly constituted something an entire race of people would fear. To think that this was the purpose of all of these supplies made no sense. Rei shook it off.

  He gathered up the tether and started walking back to the rear of the cargo compartment. Rei tugged gently on the cord and let it slide between his gloved fingers so that Rome would take up the slack. He did this every fifteen meters or so until he reached the rear of the cargo compartment. He turned around and looked at it one more time. The rows and rows of equipment casting harsh shadows from his helmet lights.

  Weapons? Rei laughed to himself. The Vuduri, they were all crazy. He closed up the cargo compartment and made his way back to the top of the Ark so that Rome could see him. The gigantic propulsion module was now twenty meters or so behind them. He waved to Rome to indicate to her that his mission was a success. He ran as fast as his magnetic boots would allow him, stopping only to jump over the latticework attaching the cargo compartment to the crew compartment. In just a few minutes, he was at the base of their tug, looking up at Rome peering out. With a single leap, he was inside.

  As soon as he reentered the airlock, Rome jumped at him and hugged him, almost knocking him back out the door. He smiled and pressed his helmet to hers.

  “It’s OK, Romey,” he said. “I’m back. It worked. No more worries.”

  “Yes,” she replied in her muffled helmet voice. “No more worries.”

  Rei turned and pressed the stud to close the outer door and watched until the indicator turned green. As soon as it did, he removed his helmet and waited until Rome removed hers. He held up his music slab and smiled at her.

  Uh, maybe he shouldn't have shown it to her just yet.
Will Rome be mad that he risked his life for some music? Tomorrow, we will find out.

  Entry 5-266: September 23, 2017

  Ray’s Space Walk – Part 10 of 10

  There was a time in my life when the question: "What's on TV?" was relevant and meaningful. This was Five years before the events that were described in Rome’s Evolution, Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 10 of 10:

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “It’s all my music in one little package,” he said. “Now I can play it for you!”

  “I wondered what you were doing back there,” Rome said curiously. “I assumed it had to be something important. I knew you would not dawdle for no reason.

  “This is important,” Rei said, waving the slab. “I’ll get MINIMCOM to hook it into our system and then I can teach you all about it.”

  “I will love it, I am sure,” Rome said, this time a bit more enthusiastically. “Let us get going though. Asdrale Cimatir is still back there. And if OMCOM is right, who knows what else?”

  “Roger that,” Rei said.

  After stowing their pressure suits in their lockers, Rei and Rome made their way back to the cockpit and took their seats. They both buckled in which was prudent since this would be the first time they attempted a PPT jump with their newly reduced mass.

  “OK, MINIMCOM,” Rei said. “We’re skinny now. Let’s see what you can do with it.”

  “Very well,” MINIMCOM said tersely from the other tug, “initiating jump.” Immediately, the PPT generators fired up and in front of them, a yawning black hole appeared. MINIMCOM fired both tugs’ plasma thrusters and Rei and Rome were pushed back into their seats a little harder than before.

  As soon as they stepped through, they heard the click and thump of MINIMCOM unclamping and rotating his craft and reattaching. A slight push forward indicated he was firing his plasma thrusters to bring them to a dead stop. It only lasted a few moments. Rome looked down at the view screens, tapped a few buttons then exclaimed, “Yes!”

  “What?” Rei said but he already knew.

  “It equates to 24c,” Rome replied.

  “Sleek,” Rei said. Then remembering MINIMCOM’s remark from earlier, he added, “Good thinking, MINIMCOM.”

  “Yes, MINIMCOM,” Rome chimed in. “It was an excellent idea.”

  “Thank you, thank you,” MINIMCOM replied, clearly pleased with himself.

  Rei turned to Rome and shrugged. “OK, what say we get…”

  “No,” Rome said, holding her hand up. “Allow me.”

  “Sure,” Rei replied, somewhat puzzled.

  “MINIMCOM, it is time to get this show on the road,” Rome said with a smile.

  “Acknowledged,” replied MINIMCOM. “Next stop: Deucado.”

  Rei laughed. This was going to be some trip.

  So there you have it. It was story I've been dying to tell for ten years. It explains how Rome and Rei came to arrive at Deucado so far ahead of schedule and how Rei retrieved his cherished music slab.

  Entry 5-267: September 24, 2017

  I miss TV

  There was a time in my life when the question: "What's on TV?" was relevant and meaningful. This was long before DVRs and VCRs and On Demand and streaming video services. This was a time when you looked forward to the weekly TV planner that came with the Sunday paper or if you had the money, you paid for a TV Guide. You'd scour the listings, figure out the shows you wanted to see and note the times and dates.

  Obviously, those days are long gone. Now you have to depend upon advertising and word of mouth to figure out what you want to watch. You have Netflix and Hulu and Amazon and CW Seed. You have to deal with CBS All Access and next year ESPN and Disney streaming services. As a writer, this development is very exciting to me because it means there is a huge new market emerging with a tremendous appetite for original content. Maybe you'll get to see Rome’s Revolution on Netflix some day!

  Most of these services cost money. They allow monthly and yearly subscriptions. It would probably be better if they just charged you by the show. We have Comcast now and if you subscribe to all the new services, the total bill would be more than we are paying for cable today.

  I don't think the model is sustainable. For example, there is a new Star Trek series called Discovery which is airing its first episode over the airwaves (cable waves?) then after that, you have to subscribe to CBS All Access for $6 per month or $10 per month for a commercial-free version. Now I love Star Trek but I'm not going to pay $6 a month for one show. As far as the other 9,000 shows available, I don't need 'em.

  Getting back to my original premise, we've gotten so used to watching shows on DVR and skipping past the commercials that even if a show is on right now, we'll record it and find something to do during the 20 minutes it takes just so we can watch it and skip through the commercials. It seems a better use of our time. Watching sports live, especially football, is so annoying because of all the commercials. I think that is why viewership is steadily decreasing. People just don't enjoy the experience any more. Maybe the NFL will wake up and do something about this before football is relegated to the status of hockey.

  Although I have a flip phone still, I know people watch streaming content on their phones, tablets, computers and even on their big flat screens using smart TV apps like Netflix and Chromecast. It's just the way it is. Watching TV or should I say streaming video content is very easy in some respects but I wasn't kidding. I do miss the old days when people would say "what's on TV?"

  Entry 5-268: September 25, 2017

  I miss Pluto

  As I mentioned yesterday, the only thing in life that is constant is change. Yesterday I lamented that streaming images, meant for entertainment, now requires a much larger investment in planning and thinking. You can't just flip on the TV and see what's playing. Other things like newspapers and landlines are on their way out, replaced by the internet and cellphones.

  Other things I miss are the certainties we were taught growing up. Like that there were nine planets in our Solar System with Pluto being the ninth. But in August 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of "dwarf planet." So now there are only eight planets plus a bunch of dwarf planets. There are at least five dwarf planets documented (Ceres | Pluto | Eris | Haumea | Makemake) with most being referred to as "Trans-Neptunian objects", or TNOs for short. Ceres is not a TNO because it is embedded within the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. And surprisingly, even though it is a dwarf planet, Eris is actually larger than Pluto and has at least one moon called Dysnomia.

  Some researchers have uncovered evidence which they believe suggests there may be a "Planet X" way out beyond Pluto. This hypothetical Neptune-sized planet orbits our sun in a highly elongated orbit far beyond Pluto. The researchers currently call the theoretical world "Planet Nine," and it could have a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbit about 20 times farther from the sun on average than Neptune. It may take between 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years to make one orbit around the Sun.

  I guess they could name Planet Nine Pluto and swap it out for the dwarf planet currently called Pluto and rename it Goofy and then things would go back to the way they were. That'll never happen, of course. But I liked it better when I was growing up and everything was certain. So, see ya, Pluto. I miss you.

  Entry 5-269: September 26, 2017

  Into the woods

  After the capture of David Troutman, one of the would-be assassins, it was time for Rome and Rei to track down Dan Steele who was the true driver behind the attempt on Rei's life. The woods south of Lake Eprehem, to the west of the resort city of Ur, was a largely uncharted expanse
of cane trees. Their original idea was to fly over the woods and use MINIMCOM's sensors to find Steele. However, this might not be the best way:

  About 20 kilometers in, they found a small river leading to Lake Eprehem with a many-fingered series of tributaries heading to the south. From Rei’s limited knowledge of geology, the southern ocean was too far, so this little river must be emptying into the gigantic lake rather than serving as drainage.