“Mainly brown soil and rocks. But there must be vegetation somewhere,” Katrina said.
“Maybe. Are we here on a scientific expedition or something else?” Andrews asked.
“I’m sorry, Professor. I think Michael is actually right about this. Maybe our scientific minds just keep on getting the better of us. One cannot help but wonder about such places,” Katrina said.
Andrews nodded. “And while your minds are wondering, always remind yourselves of the primary purpose of us coming here in the first place.”
The shuttle’s doors were opened and they all came down onto the brown soil.
But before they could move around and better appraise their environment, Richard found himself falling. As he fell, he also saw his other crew members falling down on the ground as well.
Confused, Richard looked around from where he had fallen. “Are you all okay?”
“Yes, Mr. Daniels. I think we all tripped on some wires or something,” Andrews said.
“Tripping over wires? So, we all were so carried away by our new environment that we failed to notice that there were wires on the ground?” Richard asked.
“I don’t think it is wires, sir,” Michael said.
“What do you mean, Michael? Please, let us all get up and stop making fools of ourselves on this planet,” Andrews said.
“That is just what I am saying, sir. I cannot even move myself anymore, sir. I am stuck,” Michael said.
“Stuck? What do you mean you are stuck? Can’t you get up?” Katrina asked.
“Maybe you can try and then give me a hand,” Michael said.
“This is serious. Professor, I am stuck as well. I cannot move,” Katrina said.
Richard looked at himself. He struggled to move, sit up, or stand up. But all his efforts were futile. “I am stuck as well. What is going on, for goodness’ sake?”
“Mr. Daniels, we have been bound,” Andrews said.
“Bound?” Richard repeated.
“Look at your ankles, legs, and other parts of your body. There are ropes on me. I guess that there are ropes on you as well,” Andrews said.
“Ropes on us?” Richard repeated.
“You are right, Professor. I have ropes all over my body,” Michael said.
“My goodness. Where did they all come from?” Katrina asked. “I am also all tied up.”
“This is crazy. What kind of a prank is this?” Richard asked.
“It is not a prank. It is a method of defense,” a voice said very clearly.
Richard and his crew members looked around. They turned their heads and necks, trying to move in a way that would enable them to have a closer look at their environment. But they could not see anyone standing over them or even close to them.
“Where is the voice coming from?” Andrews asked.
“There is no one standing anywhere close to us,” Richard said.
“Of course we are very close to you. How else do you think we tied you all up so fast?” the same clear voice asked.
“Tied us up? Who is speaking, please? We are not here to confront anybody. We came here in peace. Please show yourself,” Richard said.
“In peace? Did you just say that you came here in peace?” the voice asked.
“Yes. My name is Richard, and these are all my colleagues. We are from Planet Earth. We are not armed. We only need your help. That is, if you can be of assistance to us,” Richard said.
The ground in front of him seemed to be moving. But as Richard looked closer, he discovered that it was not the ground that was moving. Rather, there were people on the ground. And there were many of them. But they were tiny, very small in size.
And then something suddenly occurred to Richard. He immediately voice activated the magnifying glass on his space suit. As he did so, a pair of goggles, which resembled a hologram, came out from his suit and covered his eyes. The hologram goggles were not physical in structure but appeared to have been a projection of some sort. By making use of them, Richard could now clearly see whom he was talking to. Then, the three crew members of his team voice activated the goggles in their space suits as well.
Richard could not believe what he was seeing. Compared to him, these people must be the size of ants. They all looked human, with their bodies and the clothes they wore.
“Who are you?” Richard asked no one in particular as they all swarmed around them.
A female alien that looked like an earth-like woman except for her size stepped forward. “We are the Mendetlets, Richard. You said you come in peace?”
Richard nodded. “Yes, of course. We have a terrible issue back on my planet. It has been overrun by giants, the Tarvians. We really need your help.”
The female alien nodded. “In that case, you will have to confer with our leader, Queen Rashiva. She will make a final decision about you.”
“I see. But how do we meet with your queen when we are all tied up like this?” Richard asked.
“It is just a safety precaution,” the female alien said.
“Safety precaution? But we are supposed to be your guests. Or don’t you get guests? Is this how you treat everyone who comes to your planet?” Richard asked.
“Like I said. It is safety precautions,” the female alien repeated.
“Well then, we will have to just remain bound here until either your queen shows up or you change your safety precautions into some form of respect for people. Because I cannot see how we can move with all these ropes bound all over our bodies like this,” Richard said.
He did not get any response. Rather, he felt himself moving. And when he looked around, he saw that his colleagues were also moving. But they were not walking. They were actually moving. Or being moved.
They were being carried.
“Where are you taking us?” Richard demanded.
“To see our queen, of course,” the same female alien said. She was in front of the multitude of people carrying them all.
Richard was alarmed. A lot of thoughts went through his mind.
“Mr. Daniels, maybe we finally made it at last,” Andrews called to him.
“Made it where, Professor?” Richard asked.
“To the world of the Lilliputians. Remember? Like in Gulliver’s Travels,” Andrews said.
“Gulliver’s Travels? Professor, are you serious? We are all tied up and being taken to meet a queen somewhere else and all you can remember is Gulliver’s Travels?” Richard asked.
“Maybe the professor is right, Mr. Daniels,” Michael called out. “I mean, everything that is happening is just as it was in the story.”
“I agree as well, Mr. Daniels. Maybe this is indeed the world of the Lilliputians,” Katrina said.
“So, you all are trying to say that Gulliver’s Travels was not really a work of fiction? That it was probably a real story after all?” Richard asked.
“Yes, Mr. Daniels. I am sure they will eventually tell us about themselves. And then we will discover the truth. I remember back when I was a kid. I always had this sense of reality, you know? That the story had been so real and not just a wonderful work of imagination. I think that Planet Mendetl and its little people fit everything that the story portrayed. Just look at how effortlessly they were able to bind us and bring us down,” Andrews said.
“Even without us knowing of their presence,” Katrina said.
“And they were so fast. I mean, they worked so fast in getting us all tied up. And look at the sheer number of them all, and their strength. Can you imagine how many of them are carrying each one of us? It is just like the ants—very many, hardworking, and very strong, to the extent that they can carry weight that is several times their body mass,” Michael said.
“Well, maybe you guys are right about this Gulliver’s Travels theory. But for me, they need a lot of reorientation when it comes to attending to prospective customers. I mean, even with all the recommendations of their skill and expertise, look at how they are treating us! As if we are criminals who have been pursue
d for a very long time and eventually got caught by walking into their trap,” Richard said.
The female alien in front of them turned to look at Richard. “I apologize for this treatment, Richard. But it is our standard safety precautions that we are applying to you. Kindly bear with us, please.”
“Why wouldn’t I bear with you? It is not like any of us has a choice, do we? After all, we are bound up and being taken to I don’t know where. You really need to review your safety precautions. If this is how you treat visitors, then how do you handle invaders?” Richard asked.
The female alien did not say anything else. She just continued to lead the people around her.
Richard and his colleagues were carried for quite a distance until they had passed through the bare plain lands and gotten to the walls of a very beautiful city.
“It looks beautiful,” Richard said as they all were propped up into a seating position.
“You are right about that, Mr. Daniels. Even in our present state of incarceration, I must admit that this observation is in order. Their city is very beautiful,” Andrews said.
“Just like a beautiful model of a beautiful city concept that was designed by a well-skilled architect,” Michael added.
“There is no point calling it a model, Michael. We all can see that it is actually inhabited by people everywhere,” Katrina said.
“Ideally, we would have invited you all into our queen’s palace. For obvious reasons, this will not be possible. As a result, you will all have to wait here while we inform Her Majesty of your presence,” the female alien leading them said.
Richard sighed. “They really have to work on their manner of treating prospective clients. If we were not so desperate, I would simply thank the queen and turn around and leave this place as soon as we are released. How did they ever get such high recommendations from the aliens?”
“Maybe what they lack in client relations is made up for in their dexterity and military prowess. I have to confess that I was impressed by the way that they were able to demobilize us in the twinkling of an eye,” Andrews said.
“Maybe,” Richard said. “What is that?”
All the crew members looked towards the city. The gates had opened and a large procession of people were milling out of it. There were so many of them! And because of their small size, it was like a swarm of ants were rushing out of a nest.
“What is this? Another invasion?” Richard asked.
They all recognized one of the lead people in the procession. It was the same female alien who had accosted them at their shuttle.
“People of Earth, behold. The arrival of Her Royal Majesty the Queen of Mendetl, Queen Rashiva,” the female alien announced.
The procession began to roar and clap. In the procession were eight tiny hefty-looking male Mendetlets who were carrying a chair on top of crossed bars. As the crowd roared and clapped, the tiny hefty male Mendetlets lowered the chair to the ground.
On the chair was seated a tiny beautiful woman who wore a purple gown and had a golden crown on her head. In her hand she held a scepter, on which was a small, white crystal ball.
Some of the little people rushed forward with a big roll of red rug. They unfolded it from the base of the chair up to where Richard and his colleagues were still tied and seated on the ground.
As she stepped down from the chair, all the multitude of little people bowed their heads to the ground. She was accompanied by some tiny fiercelooking soldiers who were armed with different kinds of guns, arms, and ammunition.
The queen stepped forward with her feet touching the rug. As she walked, she was still accompanied by her tiny guards.
Still making use of his goggles, Richard watched her walk towards them slowly with an air of grace and royalty until she stopped just before them.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” Richard said.
“Good afternoon. I am Queen Rashiva, the queen of Planet Mendetl. I understand that you came to see us on Mendetl,” the queen said in a very audible and clear voice.
“Yes, Your Majesty. We are from Planet Earth. My name is Richard, and these here are all my colleagues. We need help with some problems back on our planet,” Richard said.
“I apologize for the way my people handled you on your arrival. But it is a standard measure that we have to take to safeguard ourselves from predators, invaders, and external aggressors,” the queen said. She then turned to her subjects. “Undo the cords you have used to bind these people. They are not invaders. They are here to enlist our services,” she said.
Richard was about to make a comment to Andrews when he saw that he had already been released. Same too for Katrina and Michael.
Shocked, Richard looked at himself and discovered that he was already free as well. He looked at his hands and moved them, surprised that they were already free so fast. But that was not what was baffling him.
“How did you do that?” Richard asked, voicing the amazement that he felt.
“How did we do what?” the queen asked.
“The binds, or ropes, that were used to bind us. How did they get removed so fast?” Richard asked.
“By loosening them off your bodies, Richard,” the queen replied.
“But how? I don’t think I felt anything when they did,” Richard said. He turned to his colleagues. “Were any of you aware of when the ropes were being loosened from your bodies?”
His colleagues shook their heads.
Richard turned back to Queen Rashiva. “See? None of us felt anything.”
The queen smiled. “Let me ask you this: did you know when you were tied up at your arrival? Were anyone of you aware of being tied up?”
Richard shook his head. “Well, no. All I can remember is that we all came down from the shuttle and then all of a sudden we were falling down on the ground, as if we had mistakenly tripped on invisible wires.”
“There. That explains it all to you, Richard. That is our special skillset which we Mendetlets have perfected over the ages. We work very fast to tie up any adversaries that might try to attack us, no matter their size or stature,” the queen replied.
“Then you really must be very fast,” Richard said.
“Faster than you can imagine, Richard. Much faster than you can imagine. That way, no one can take us unaware at any time. And you can see how many we are. Our sheer size in numbers will always come in handy in demobilizing any threats within fractions of a second, no matter the number of such invaders. So tell me, what is the problem on Earth?” the queen asked.
“The problem is not on Earth, Your Majesty. It is on my planet Dan-X34,” Richard said.
“But I thought you said that you were from Earth,” the queen said.
“Yes. We are from Earth. But the problem is not on Earth. It is on my own planet. I have a planet,” Richard said.
“Okay. I understand. And what is the nature of the problem with your planet?” the queen asked.
“It was overrun by giants. Tarvians. And I need to get it back from them,” Richard said.
“Tarvians? Those thieves colonized your planet?” the queen asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty. They took it over after destroying almost all of my facilities and structures. I just want to get them off my planet for good before they cause more damage to it,” Richard said.
“Then you are in the right place, Richard. We are going to rid the Tarvians from your planet,” the queen said.
“I am glad to hear this. By the way, have you had any experience with them before? I mean, have you ever engaged in any warfare with the Tarvians?” Richard asked.
“Directly? No, Richard. I am going to be very honest with you. We have never engaged the Tarvians in any direct duel before. But that really is not a problem. For us Mendetlets, size is never really a problem. You saw how we were able to bring you down so easily, so fast, and in the twinkling of an eye. Just like I explained earlier, it is our skill. We work together in multitudes and unity. We always harness the size of our numbers,
in addition to speed, we are able to entrap and tie up anything that poses a threat to us,” the queen said.
“I see. Your Majesty, I hope you do realize that just as we are giants to you, so also are the Tarvians giants to us. I wonder what that will make the size of the Tarvians to you, maybe mega-giants or ultra-giants?” Richard asked.
The queen smiled. “Richard, in terms of comparison of sizes, you are much more of giants to us than what the Tarvians are to you. I believe we are like ants in size to you, whereas the Tarvians stand at about thirty or so feet. That means that the Tarvians are about five times the height of an average person from Earth. Whereas for us, you must be almost a thousand times bigger than us in size. But even at that, we could still easily bring you down without bursting a sweat. Richard, size does not matter to the Mendetlets. Even if there are races that can dwarf the Tarvians in size we would be able to bring them down in no time at all.”
“This is really impressive, Your Majesty. I really don’t know what to say,” Richard said. “Your Majesty, is there any other way you make use of your skills, I mean, apart from engaging and handling threats and adversaries?”
“Yes, of course, Richard. We Mendetlets are very industrious. We use our skills and numbers in building and extracting resources from our planet such that our planet remains properly conserved without any kind of harm or damage coming to it in any way,” the queen said.
“You extract resources from your planet without harming it?” Richard repeated.
“Yes, Richard. Mineral resources, water, and other essential items that we need,” the queen said.
“But how do you do that? Is it with mechanical devices or what?” Richard asked.
“Nothing mechanical, chemical, or any other sort of system that can pollute our environment, Richard. We have our own ingenious ways of doing this. We get to the very depths of the planet, or even climb to the uppermost heights to the very location of the resource. Once we arrive, we start our extractions and purifications at the same time. Working in our large numbers, we can easily cover large expanses of areas, taking out only the purified aspects of these resources and leaving the area as clean and unaltered as it was before our arrival. That way, we do not add any impurities, and only retrieve what we need,” the queen said.
Planet DAN-X34 Page 17
