The Blue People of Cloud Planet

by Brian Wolfenden

  >> watch our leader >>

  Hotenka had cocked his head and appeared to be waiting,

  ‘What’s he doing?’ Scott asked.

  >> hotenka is listening for the drums to start >>

  ‘What drums!?’

  >> the drums that begin the calling of your name >>

  ‘But why?’, and then the Serenite leader pulled back the black cover, exposing the plaque and golden shafts of light sprang across the pyramid. He then cocked his head the other way and stared intently at the golden plaque.

  >> it has begun >>

  Scott still did not understand and Seren obviously sensed this,

  >> the leader is sending your name to the third drummer >>

  And then he understood. The code of lines was being telepathically sent to the Serenite drummer at the SOS dwelling – he had assumed, incorrectly, that it had been learned by heart. Also, although it was mid-afternoon here, it would be 1 hour before noon at the SOS dwelling.

  ‘And he does this every day for 2 hours, oops, I mean the duration?’

  >> yes > every sun at this time >>

  It then struck Scott that the silver-haired leader of the Blue People of Cloud Planet had relayed this message at the same time, daily, either side of noon for 35 years! He was awed by the desperate determination and commitment of the leader to his people.

  ‘But we’re here. Why does he need to keep sending the message?’

  >> you have come > but our troubles remain > hotenka will keep calling until we are saved >>

  That afternoon, Scott again succumbed to Seren and a new group of eager blond females frantic for the elusive male births that threatened their existence and advanced their status in Serenite society.

  The next morning he and Seren met with Hotenka and his five elders to try and learn more about the fate of the Blue People. However, it soon became clear that his opening statement - ‘this is what I know’, was the extent of his knowledge of their fate.

  To try to understand Serenite history, Scott asked about the amazing diamonds but found it difficult to make himself understood. He then pointed at the light shafts and then gestured upwards towards the crystals. Suddenly Seren understood as he saw,

  >> he means the stones > he is asking about the light emitting stones > and where do they come from >>

  Then the leader inclined his head and one of his female elders beckoned to Scott and Seren to follow her.

  They walked to the black screw lift where two adult blue females helped them don the huge leaves – obviously they were going underground.

  The group descended the screw lift led by the females. The temperature dropped and the roar of multiple water flows battered Scott’s ears. They passed a duplex boat dock and Scott knew that there were four of these in this dwelling and, he presumed, in all dwellings on the equator. Next they came to the dark mouth of a tunnel the same size and shape as the boat dock. However this tunnel was dry and next to it about 5 metres further on was another dry tunnel. And possibly another but it was too gloomy to be certain.

  Then the blue females walked over to two short black shafts. They had a small crystal wedged at one end which was illuminated by a shaft of light from the ceiling. They picked them up, turned them over and walked towards the mouth of the tunnel.

  Scott gasped as a pool of light beamed out in front of each female – it was as if there were holding a torch. It was incredible to think that the crystals could be charged by light and then were able to release the stored energy. How many more times was he going to be astonished by the technology of the Serenites and the versatility of their unbelievable diamonds.

  The procession moved into the tunnel where the floor was red and dusty. The light from the ‘torches’ illuminated large daubs of black in the red clay of the walls. He moved closer to investigate and ran his hand across the surface and discovered it was a stratum of carbon black about a metre square in size but irregular in shape. In the centre was a large recessed void which was symmetrically shaped. He could not comprehend this.

  They moved further into the depths of the tunnel where there were dozens of similar black shapes with empty recesses which covered the walls and ceiling. They continued on in the eerie light of the tunnel and then in the distant edge of the ‘torch’ light something glistened and reflected back. Suddenly the black shapes had large gleaming centres!

  He rushed forward and began to comprehend. A huge diamond crystal nestled in the centre of the carbon. It was perfect in shape with multi-faceted surfaces. There were dozens and dozens of them which dazzled in the light of the ‘torches’.

  He did not know, nor could guess, the length of the tunnel but the specks of light seemed to go on and on into the distance. Then Seren said,

  >> here are our stones > the givers of light >>

  After this explanation the group turned around, walked back out and entered the next tunnel. Scott had to rush to keep up. Now the diamonds were smaller and similar in size to the ‘torches’.

  He wondered what incredible geological forces had been involved to seed and grow such sublime diamonds and was the whole plain studded with these treasures?

  They left that tunnel and moved past several others. He deduced that they must radiate out from the dwelling like the spokes of a wheel.

  ‘Each wall of the 500 metre dwelling is about 200 hundred metres long and contains 10 straight tunnels – 80 tunnels in total radiating from this dwelling. And they all link directly with or intersect those emanating at angles to other dwellings. The extent of the mines under the red clay is staggering and is, as yet, not fully explored.’

  They entered yet another tunnel where the black daubs were much smaller with veins of red. Further in, light reflected off smaller crystals in the wall. He moved forward and touched one – it was loose – and it came away in his hand. He nearly dropped it because it was so heavy. It was beautifully faceted but its colour was different – it was tinged red – and it was not as clear as the larger ones because it had an internal crystalline pattern. It was about the size of a small book.

  He looked at Seren and at the elder Serenite female and held the crystal aloft.

  ‘These are astounding, these tunnels and their treasures are remarkable – may I take this stone back to the pyramid to examine it more closely?’ Accordingly, one of the blue workers took it from him and the elder Serenite said,

  >> there are many more of these red stones > in the dark pyramid >>

  Scott looked puzzled and then Seren added,

  >> i know where she means > i will show you later >>

  Scott now felt cold and he shivered. He had been so excited that he had not noticed the chill which had slowly seeped into him. The group left the incredible tunnels with their fantastic treasures and went back up into the pyramid where the hot pools awaited them. He had a lot to think about.

  He watched the Serenites drinking and feeding from a spot near the cool pool. Scott hefted the incredible diamond which was wrapped in a thick piece of leaf to protect it from exposure to the light beams. He returned it to his pack and mused,

  ‘Back on Earth I’d be worth a fortune with just one of these!’

  Slowly the implications for Cloud Planet with its red clay plain stuffed with millions of huge diamonds dawned on him. This situation was going to need careful management – apart from the power potential - my God! – think of the weapon capability! – If these ever got into the wrong hands! Scott shuddered at the thought.

  However a coded message about the wealth of the planet had already been sent from LifeSeeker-1 without the knowledge of Scott, Zec-C and the remaining astronauts. The sender was part of the team that had programmed Zec-C and had been clever and devious enough to salt away the odd gigabyte of programme code for a rainy day!

  It would be 10 years before the coded message reached Earth and was received by the unscrupulous leader of a group of powerful industrialists and politicians. They would quickly realise the wealth and power that could be explo
ited from a planet full of diamonds!

  At the same time, the General would initially marvel at the findings on Cloud Planet - but then he too, would be troubled by the ramifications of such a treasure trove.

  ‘Earth is struggling to produce enough energy. Fossil fuels are depleted to meaningless amounts not worth extracting and nuclear and renewable sources are barely keeping up with demand. Solar power is, now, much more efficient.

  ‘But the most critical development of the 22nd century is the ‘wireless’ transmission of electricity and the formation of a worldwide grid in space. This is fed from conventional power-generating sources, solar arrays in space and now from exciting new projects exploiting the thermal vents under the oceans and icecaps. These are producing very low cost energy at zero carbon footprint. By a strange coincidence, a team member of one of these installations under the Antarctic is Raphaella Medici, the younger sister of Olivia. But that is another story.

  ‘However, a few of these larger crystals from Cloud Planet have the capability to power the whole of Moon base. This new world has a massive energy potential for Earth and mankind.’

  Chapter 48

  Secrets of the Dark Pyramid

  As Scott pondered the complexities of this remarkable planet, he recalled Zec-1’s disturbing news of the previous night. New larger black masses had formed adjacent to the line of dwellings that led to this ‘capital city’.

  These thoughts were quashed as Seren approached and his spirits rose at the sight of her. She inclined her head and a blue female nearby got up and walked to the screw lift. Then her eyes blazed,

  >> come with me > i will show you the dark pyramid >>

  and he followed Seren out of the huge pyramid into the brilliant sunshine and cloying humidity.

  They made their way along the open channel by the outdoor pools which thronged with blue workers. The seven pyramid dwellings were arranged in an arc around the huge central pyramid. As they proceeded past the pools by the raised plinth containing the outdoor screw lift, they approached the furthermost pyramid. Scott could see that this one was different from all the others because it had no crystals in the front two walls.

  They arrived at a small door, which lowered as they approached, and, when it had come to rest, they entered. As they walked into the deep gloom of this pyramid, Seren inclined her head, sending a message to the blue female below and, after a short period of time, the door rose and sealed them inside.

  Scott’s eyes were immediately drawn to the centre of this strange pyramid where a small black rectangular box rested on a red clay dais. Both were illuminated by a thin streak of intense light coming from above. He looked up to the roof and saw a line of diamond crystals in close proximity to each other across the roof and in direct alignment with the passage of the sun. This was the only light in this otherwise dark pyramid.

  ‘This pyramid has a wide ledge about 3 metres above the ground and 3 metres wide which runs around the entire pyramid. A clay ramp leads up to this ledge from a point near the door. Starting 3 metres above this ledge are row after row of closely-spaced diamond crystals which rise almost to the top of the roof on each of the eight walls.’

  As he moved towards the high ledge to the left of the raised dais, Scott could see that the vertical face was full of row upon row of upright narrow, rectangular recesses.

  Each cavity held a small crystal! – Similar in size to the reddish diamond he had brought from the tunnel.

  He counted 12 rows up from the floor and every side of the pyramid had 100 recesses across the width making 1200 crystals per wall.

  ‘My God!’ He cried aloud, ‘There’s nearly 10,000 of them in here! What is this place?’ and he turned to Seren and saw,

  >> i do not know > i only know that this place is called the dark pyramid >>

  Scott walked to the central dais where the light from the roof crystals washed over the black box in a thin intense line. He gingerly moved it and it slid across the surface of the dais along deep channels. This revealed a rectangular cavity in the clay surface, similar in size to those around the walls. The light was strobing over this opening.

  He slid back the black box and went to one of the walls and extracted a red crystal. He carried it to the dais and inserted the diamond into the open end of the box and into the recess. He moved it back exposing the crystal to the light.

  Nothing! – Just an illuminated crystal.

  He pushed the cover back and removed the crystal. He had inserted it with the flat side uppermost, so now he turned it over so that the multi-faceted surface was now facing the light. He pulled back the black box.

  The diamond glowed with a reddish hue and then hundreds of red shafts of thin light radiated out from it which caused Scott and Seren to spring back.

  Instantly the whole atmosphere in the dark pyramid changed – the impression was mist, cold and rain all around them. They both shuddered with the uncomfortable feeling so he slid the box back over the crystal. Immediately the ‘rain, mist and gloom’ disappeared and normality was restored.

  Scott returned this crystal and chose another near it. It glowed red and the result was the same – ‘rain, mist, gloom’ – what was happening? So now he replaced it and took another from a different wall and slid it into place. He pulled back the black box and the crystal glowed red and radiated its thin red shafts to every wall in the pyramid.

  Scott and Seren stood open mouthed as the whole pyramid lit up with a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes of all sizes which coalesced into images moving around them.

  They were standing on a wide red beach with beautiful blue sea stretching away into the distance. They were surrounded by people. Gorgeous blond-haired Serenites – males, females and young children were playing and frolicking on the beach and in the shallows of the sea. Also there were blue workers taking care of the Serenite young and infants.

  Scott looked around him, completely perplexed. Where was he? Where was this place? And now, unbelievably, he was looking inland at a broad estuary with dark green slopes on either side. On the water there were black boats which were being paddled by blue females. In the distance the estuary narrowed to a river and the banks rose to forested mountains topped with pure white clouds.

  Scott looked at the glowing red crystal in the centre and the shafts of red light pointing to the myriad of crystals on the walls. He felt that he was standing in a three dimensional hologram, similar to the virtual reality 3D video that was developed in the wake of flat screen LCD television. Back on Earth, the whole room was a mass of new technology video transmitters where you sat in the middle of the action. But here on Cloud Planet these amazingly flexible crystals somehow produced a moving tableau of recorded events.

  But where was he? He looked with amazement at the right bank of the estuary and saw an octagonal-shaped structure with a pyramid dwelling within it and the familiar four triangular pools.

  A light shaft reached up into the incredibly blue sky from the two walls nearest the river. It was fed with water from a raised canal. Further dwellings stretched in a line along the bank of the river. The whole area buzzed with the activities of hundreds of Blue People.

  Could he really be on the same planet?

  Seren could hardly contain her excitement as she darted about the ‘beach’ among her people in this fantastic hologram. Then Scott saw,

  >> look > look > look at my beautiful people > see all these wonderful males > the children playing > what a perfect place > but when >>

  Then she dropped to her knees and Scott’s head hurt with emotion and his heart pounded. Seren raised her arms and pointed and her anguish distressed him to the core. He looked at her and though her eyes still blazed brilliant blue, tears flooded from them. And in a rising crescendo his head exploded as he saw,

  >> what ever happened to my beautiful people > what - - ever - - happened - - to - - our - - wonderful - - world - - >>

  BOOK SIX

  THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE PEOPLE

 
Chapter 49

  Paradise

  ‘I can imagine how strange Scott and Seren must have felt as they moved around the dark pyramid now bathed in stunning colour and movement. The quality and definition of the three dimensional video is truly remarkable. They must both think that they are transported back in time on this planet and are living in that distant moment among the Blue People on their red beach by the sea.’

  Scott rushed to Seren, who sobbed uncontrollably against his chest. How strange, he thought, that amongst all this beauty there should be so much despair. But quickly, she controlled herself and rose to her feet to gaze again upon the dramatic scene being played out around them in the dark pyramid.